The New Teacher
by A-Melody-Like-No-Other
Summary: After the war ended, Harry and Ginny got back together. They had an amazing, relaxing summer filled with stolen kisses by the lake. Harry expected to take the year off and have some time to himself. But when McGonagall asks Harry to come back and teach Defense Against the Dark Arts for a year, his year is instantly filled with secrets, attacks, and teaching.
1. Fresh Start, New Year

Author's Note: Hello everyone, I'm Emma! I originally posted this story back in 2011 (4 years ago, wow!) but I lost the motive to write it so I put it on hiatus. Since I've become a whole different writer since then (a better one) I decided to edit my old chapters and finish the story. So hopefully you'll like it!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything, everything belongs to JKR.

 **Chapter One**

 **Fresh Start, New Year**

Harry was sitting in the Burrows kitchen with Ginny, just talking about the year to come. While Ginny was going back to Hogwarts with Hermione, Harry was going to have a year off to relax after what happened the previous year. Then once Ginny was out of Hogwarts Harry would try to become an auror for the Ministry, like he had wanted to do before the war. Their conversation continued on that subject until they saw three tiny dots in the distance; one for Hermione, one for Ginny, but who the third one was for was a mystery. Ginny got up to open the window for the owls, while Harry called up the stairs, "Hermione! Your letter is here". Hermione came rushing down the stairs, excited about the list of school supplies tha she would receive. Ron followed at a much slower speed, he loved how excited Hermione was over her letter but hated how it met that they were that Mach closer to being separated for a year. The owls landed on the table and stuck out their legs for their respective recipients. The three letters were for Ginny, Hermione, and, to everyone's surprise Harry.

"What do you reckon that's for?" Ron asked Harry as the owl stuck out its leg for Harry. He shrugged his shoulders in confusion. Harry carefully untied the scroll from the owl's leg as Hermione and Ginny did the same. The owls all flew away once their duty was done. Harry read his:

 _Dear Mr. Potter,_

 _I would be very grateful if you would accept a teaching job for the subject Defense Against the Dark Arts. I have not been able to find enough replacements for all of the jobs that are available from the losses in the war. Think about it and please let me know as soon as you can it would be greatly appreciated. If you would like I will meet you in person, send an owl to tell me when._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Minerva McGonagall_

 _Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

 _P.s. I hope that you are doing well as well as the whole Weasley family._

Harry looked up from his letter everyone was staring at him wondering what his letter said. Harry had a blank expression on his face, _me? teaching? at Hogwarts?_ Harry thought puzzled.

"Well mate, what does it say?" Ron asked finally breaking the silence.

"Um... Well... McGonagall wants me to teach… Defense Against the Dark Arts... At Hogwarts," Harry replied astonished, handing Ron the letter so the other three could read it. Harry watched their eyes scan the page; Hermione was the first to look up.

"Are you going take it Harry?" Hermione asked as the other two finished reading and looked up too.

"I don't know what do you guys think?" Harry asked them, but looked at Ginny. Her opinion was the one that Harry needed the most. As Harry waited for them to answer he went through the pros and cons of taking the job. His main pro was that he could see Ginny every day. But he also was afraid of being a bad teacher. No one answered him so Harry decided to change the subject to Ginny and Hermione's letters, "what about your letters?"

"Oh," Hermione said placing Harry's letter down. "I've been made head-girl," Hermione squealed as Mrs. Weasley entered the room, hearing that the letters had arrived.

"That's wonderful dear," Mrs. Weasley said before everyone hugged her. Except for Ron, who not only hugged her but kissed her too.

"Ginny what about your letter," Harry asked once the excitement had died down.

"Well, I've been made Quidditch Captain," she said casually, not being able to hide her smile. Harry couldn't help but smile too.

"That's great Gin," Harry told her as he hugged before everyone else.

"Well, it looks like we'll have to be making a trip to Diagon Alley. Though not tomorrow, no tomorrow's no good, how about the next day? Yes, Friday, that will be good," Mrs. Weasley told herself as she made her way up the stairs to owl her husband.

That night, Harry and Ginny were lying under the stars, hand in hand, pointing out the constellations they had surprisingly, actually _learned_ in Astronomy class. That was one of their favorite things to do at night just lay under the stars together. By then, Harry still hadn't decided whether to take up the teaching job or not. The one thing he knew about that was he needed to ask Ginny what she thought; he valued her opinion over everyone else's. All he needed was the opening to bring it up, because he didn't want to interrupt Ginny when she was talking. Once they had been sitting in silence for a few minutes Harry spoke up, "Hey Gin?"

"Yeah," Ginny replied turning her head to look him in the eye.

"Well, I was wondering if you think I should take this teaching job or not? I know you're going to say that it's up to me but I really want your honest opinion."

"Well, you're right, in the end, it really is up to you, but if you want my opinion, I'll give you it. I think you should take the job, because that would mean you would get to see me a lot," Ginny joked with a smile. "But, honestly, I think you would love it, you are a great teacher Harry, look at all you taught the D.A. when Umbridge was at Hogwarts. You should take it. And I know you wanted to take the year off, but it would have been no more than a week after I left and you be at the ministry, signing up to be an auror."

Harry laughed at her response. "Well then, I'll write to McGonagall in the morning to meet with her. Looks like I'm going to be seeing a lot of you this year, Miss Weasley," Harry joked, leaning in for a kiss, which Ginny then deepen. Harry was grateful to have Ginny as his girlfriend and he was looking forward to spending more time with her instead of a year apart.

The next morning Harry got out of bed more tired than usually, he and Ginny had stayed up unusually late looking at the stars. Harry got dressed and made his way downstairs where he was sure that Mrs. Weasley was making breakfast. His assumption was correct; Mrs. Weasley was cooking away, making a delicious smelling breakfast. "Morning dear," she cooed to Harry as he walked into the kitchen. George, Mr. Weasley, and Charlie- who was home until the summer ended- were sitting at the table eating their breakfasts. It looked like they were the only ones awake.

"Morning Mrs. Weasley, um could I use Errol?" Harry asked because he needed to owl his reply to McGonagall so he could get the supplies he needed, and talk to her.

"What for dear?" Mrs. Weasley asked making a plate of food for Harry to eat.

"I need to send a letter to McGonagall. Yesterday she asked me to teac at Hogwarts next year, for Defense Against the Dark Arts," Harry answered. He sat down at the table to eat his breakfast that Mrs. Wealsey had set down for him.

"Oh, that's wonderful Harry. But, I'd use Pig, if it's something that important, Errol best not do it, he's a bit slow now a days," Mrs. Weasley informed him. Harry nodded and started to dig into his food, he just realized how hungry he really was. As Harry finished his food, Ron had finally waked up, probably smelling the food. Harry laughed; nothing could stop Ron from eating. Harry, who was already finished with his breakfast, went to Ginny's room to send an owl to McGonagall. He walked upstairs and knocked on Ginny's door.

"Come in," Ginny called from inside her room.

Harry opened the door. "Hey Gin what are you doing?" Harry sat down on the end of Ginny's bed as Ginny riffled through her closet, trying to find something to wear.

"Just picking out my outfit for the day. Have you sent the letter to McGonagall yet?" Ginny asked, finding a shirt she liked.

"No, actually I came up here to write to the letter and use Pig. Do you have any parchment? And a quill?"

"Yeah, on my desk I think," Ginny pointed to the stack of parchment as she changed into her shirt. "Harry, I was thinking, isn't it against the rules to have a student-teacher relationship? And I know that we're only a year apart, but people could say things and you know-" Ginny trailed off. She was once again digging through her closet for pants.

"Gin, it'll be alright. If you want, instead of sending an owl, I'll send a patronus to her so we can go talk to McGonagall about it today, whatever you want."

"Yeah, that'll be good, do that instead," Harry nodded, he put the parchment and quill away and instead sent a patronus. "It will be okay won't it?" She whispered as she wrapped her arms around Harry.

"Yes, it will," Harry gave her a gentle kiss to ease her worries.

* * *

Harry and Ginny stepped into the Hogwarts Headmistress's office. McGonagall was waiting for them, sitting in her chair behind the desk. Besides for a few of McGonagall's personal items that were added, the room looked the same as it had when Dumbledore was Headmaster. All of his trinkets and other devices were still in place.

"Good day," McGonagall greeted.

"Hello Professor," Harry said, "It's good to se you again."

"Likewise Potter," she replied with a smile and gestured for them to sit. "Shall we get right down to business?"

"Okay, I've decided to accept the job. But I may need a little help wits the lesson plans, if that's alright," McGonagall nodded, happy that Harry accepted the job. "And there's one more thing. Um, Ginny and I are, um, we're-"

"In a relationship," Ginny cut in, knowing Harry would be shy about this, "and we thought it was against the rules for a teacher and a student to have relationship like ours."

"Ah, yes, well..." McGonagall stopped to think. "I think, given everything that has happened and the circumstances that you two will be able to stay you were together before Harry had taken the job, but also because you deserve it. With everything that happened last year, why should I say no?"

"Thank you Professor, I really appreciate it," Harry said happily. McGonagall smiled back at Harry. She had always been like an aunt to Harry, and she felt so proud to see him grown up and happy.

Harry and Ginny stood to leave, "Well, we should go, mum's probably got dinner ready. It was really nice to see you again Professor," Ginny said as McGonagall handed Harry a starting list of course plan, that she had aleast created for whoever ended up receiving the job.

"And same to you Miss Weasley, and please tell your mother I say hello."

"I will, see you in a month," Ginny answered before the two left the Headmistress's office.

The next morning Harry woke up early to go to Diagon Alley. He got dressed and went downstairs where Mrs. Weasley was setting plates of food down in front of Ginny, George, Hermione, and Mr. Weasley. Everyone at the table was going to Diagon Alley plus Ron who was still sleeping. George was going to re-open Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. Though, since George didn't have Fred anymore, Ron was going to help him and be his new partner for the time being. Everyone was really happy that George had started to move on. After they had got home from Hogwarts the last spring, George had locked himself in his room, not even coming down to eat. Ginny was the only one he'd let in his room, and that was only so she could bring him food. There was one occasion where he let someone other than Ginny in his room, when Angelina came to visit him. She was the one who got George to leave his room for the first time in weeks.

"Good morning, Harry dear," Mrs. Weasley cooed as she set a plate down for Harry which was next to Ginny.

"Thank you Mrs. Weasley," Harry replied.

"You're welcome dear... Now where is Ronald?" Mrs. Weasley asked the table.

"I'll go wake him Mrs. Weasley," Hermione offered.

"Thank you dear," Mrs. Weasley said as she turned back to the stove to make another plate of food. Once Ron finally came down everyone else was practically done eating, and they were starting to get ready to leave. Harry had followed Ginny up into her room to get her things. They would've just gone up and came back down but they got a little bit preoccupied which caused Mrs. Weasley call them down when it was time to leave. Harry and Ginny walked down the stairs hand in hand out to the yard where everyone was gathered getting ready to apparate. Ginny, who had just turned seventeen a few days ago, threw her arms around Harry so he could take her in side-along apparition. Ron was completely against her doing so but one look from Hermione he shut up, then apparated to the shop, followed by everyone else. The shop looked nearly the same as it did when Harry last saw it the only exception were some new products added and something's switched around.

"Is it ready to open dear?" Mrs. Weasley questioned George.

"Yeah, it is mum," George replied. "All that we're waiting on is our staff, who should be here any moment."

"Well then we're going to go, good luck dears," Mrs. Weasley called to her two sons as they started out the door followed by Harry and Ginny, with Hermione bringing up the tail.

"Mum, Harry, Hermione, and I are going to go down there first," Ginny pointed down Knockturn Alley. "Harry needs some supplies from there."

"Alright be safe, meet us back here in an hour and a half," Mrs. Weasley said as she and Mr. Weasley turned to go the opposite way of the three.

Harry meanwhile was putting his hood up hoping to not get recognized by the people in the Alley's. They started down towards Knockturn Alley. "Stay close, we don't need to loose anybody here. Trust me, even now it'll be creepy," Harry said more to Hermione than Ginny who was already very close to him.

"What exactly do you need Harry?" Hermione questioned after nodding.

"Um, let's see," Harry took out his list McGonagall sent to him the previous day of what she wanted him to get. "McGonagall asked me to get the other vanishing cabinet," Harry said as they walked in front of Borgan & Burkes, "In here."

"We'll let's get in and out as quickly as possible," Ginny said. "You're right Harry, this place is creepy.

They entered the shop and Harry told the girls to wait by the door. He pulled down his hood and walked up to Borgan. "I would like to buy this vanishing cabinet, how much?" Harry asked casually.

"One hundred and fifty galleons," Borgan grunted unhappily.

"Here," Harry said handing Borgan the galleons, McGonagall had enclosed the money for the cabinet.

Harry took out his wand, "do you mind?" He asked Borgan who shook his head still grumpy. Harry sent the vanishing cabinet to the flat above George's shop.

Harry left Borgan to find Ginny and Hermione standing at the door wanting to get out the shop as soon as possible. He put up his hood before they left the shop. They then quickly left the shop. The three went to a few other stores so Harry could buy some items to show the older students about the Dark Arts. Once they were out of Knockturn Alley Ginny asked, "what does McGonagall want with the vanishing cabinets?"

"I don't know, she probably wants them both in her possession so no one can get into Hogwarts," they walked back in George's shop to ask him if it was okay to keep the cabinet there until they left Diagon Alley. George had told them it was completely fine and asked them to get a spell book for him.

After they left George's shop again they went to get Ginny's and Hermione's school supplies and the rest of the things Harry needed. When they were done getting all the things they needed, Hermione went back to George's shop while Harry and Ginny went into Quality Quidditch Supplies where Harry had present waiting for Ginny.

"It better not be a broom Harry, you spoil me too much already," Ginny said as they walked in the shop and Harry pulled down his hood.

"Hey, it's not my fault my parents left me enough money for two life times, and then there's also the money Sirius left me, which probably brings the total up to four or five life times," Harry told her with a smile.

"Still," Ginny said not actually knowing what she was going to say. She and Harry were heading towards the broom section. "Harry! I told you no."

"Yeah, you did tell me no, but did I say I was going to listen?" Harry waited for an answer but Ginny just folded her arms pretending to be mad him. Harry knew she wasn't actually mad, so he continued, "Which one do you want?"

"No," Ginny said still being stubborn.

"Fine, if you don't want to tell me what you want, you're getting the Firebolt 3000," Harry said grabbing the broom heading to the counter.

"No Harry, don't spend that much money on me," Ginny said grabbing his hand trying to pull him back but she failed.

"Hello I would like to buy this broom," Harry said placing the broom on the counter so he could get out his money. The cashier looked up to see who was buying the broom. She was a girl in her mid-twenties, Harry guessed.

"Of, of course Mr. Potter," the cashier said, standing up straight and puffing out her chest. She was suddenly trying to look pretty for him.

Ginny, seeing this, got jealous, so she came up and said, "Harry you really don't have to buy this for me." Ginny also took Harry's free hand in hers while he paid the cashier the money. Harry was obviously oblivious to the girl trying to flirt with him. Much to her disappointment, but Ginny didn't mind.

"I know Gin, but I want to," Harry replied taking Ginny's other hand and added, "deal with it."

Ginny laughed while the cashier looked upset seeing that the Harry Potter had a girlfriend. Harry grabbed the broom and they headed out the door, not letting go of Ginny's hand. Once they stepped outside the shop someone recognized Harry and suddenly there were reporters swarming them. Harry cursed himself; he had forgotten to put his hood back up. Harry and Ginny could barely hear what all of them were saying while they were trying to push through to get to George's shop. But once in a while they would hear a full question instead of just their names or the beginning of questions. But even if they did hear a question, they would still ignore them. By the time they had gotten to George's crowded shop, that had opened only a half an hour before, Harry and Ginny heads of at some of the bizarre questions the repeaters had asked. Harry and Ginny said hi to George, Ron and Hermione and continued up to the flat to where they were to wait for Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. To keep them occupied Ginny gave Harry a long thank you kiss.


	2. Kings Cross

**Chapter Two**

 **Kings Cross**

On September 1st Harry, Ginny, Hermione, Ron, and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley woke up at nine o'clock to catch the train. This would be the one year they weren't rushing to get on the train since Mr. and Mrs. Weasley only had one child at Hogwarts. It was also do to the fact that Harry had to be at the station early. As a teacher who it was convenient to ride the train, he needed to help younger students get settled on the train. His job also included assisting the prefects as they made their rounds and anything else they needed. So, for once, the Weasley clan would arrive at platform nine and three quarters early. At their early breakfast, Ron was unusually quiet. Harry guessed it was because Hermione was going back to school and Ron wouldn't see her until the first Hogsmeade weekend. Over the summer they had spent almost every minute together. Ron even accompanied Hermione to Australia to restore her parents' memories. It was going to be hard for them to not see each other every day, let alone Hermione not having Ron with her at Hogwarts like the past six years. This year was going to be different to any of the trio were used to. Ron and Hermione's situation made Harry was glad that he would at least be able to spend time with Ginny and see her more than once a month. When breakfast ended it, was nearly ten twenty. The group going to Kings Cross went out into the front yard to apparate to an empty alley near Kings Cross. Ginny, who now had her own apparition license, threw her arms around Harry to side-along apparate. Harry sent their trunks ahead as Ron shot them a disgusted look. Ginny detached herself from Harry, opting instead to grab his hand. She found that it was very uncomfortable to apparate with someone wrapped around you. Before Ron could say something about his discomfort, Harry left. They appeared in an alley next to Kings Cross station before the rest of the group. Ginny turned to Harry and laughed, she loved messing with Ron and making him feel uncomfortable. Harry was laughing right along with her as they picked up their trunks and waited for her parents, brother, and Hermione to join them. Harry offered to carry Ginny's trunk but she declined. Although she had hated when Dean tried to help her and treat her like she couldn't do anything by herself, it was different with Harry. He would always offer but never make her feel like he was forcing her to do something. He was a gentleman. Ginny also thought it may have to do with the facts that she knew she was going to spend the rest of her life with him, and because Harry was trying to make up for having to leave her the previous year and making her worry so much.

When everyone got to platforms nine and ten, they went through the barrier in pairs, Harry and Ginny were first, followed by Ron and Hermione, and finally Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. Upon entering the platform, Harry found it was nearly deserted. There were a few early comers spread out, but for the most part, it was empty. Harry wasn't too surprised considering it was still very early, the earliest he had ever gotten there. The only other time he had seen it any emptier was in his mind when he was talking with Dumbledore after he got hit by the killing curse. Taking advantage of the crowd-less platform, Harry, Ginny, and Hermione put their trunks on the train, with the help of the other three Weasley's. With time to spare, they all talked about the upcoming year until more people started to come into the platform. It was nearing ten fifty when Mr. and Mrs. Weasley said their goodbyes and left. Ron was putting off saying goodbye until the very last second. To give him and Hermione some privacy, Harry and Ginny boarded the train and found their compartment. They found Luna and asked her to join them as she came onto the train, and they helped her put trunk away. Once her trunk was safely stored away, Luna pulled out the most recent addition of the Quibbler, this time it was right side up. The train had already began to move by the time Hermione finally joined them. She only stopped by to say hi to Luna before proceeding back to the prefects meeting. After Hermione came and went, Neville showed up, wondering if he could sit with them. There ended up being four people in the compartment until Hermione returned. Although, before that, Harry erratically left to make quick rounds and returning in little time. It was when Harry and Ginny were in the middle of their fifth exploding snap game and the sun was going down that Hermione finally plopped down in the seat between Ginny and Luna. She came blundering through the door all upset that Michael Corner had been made a prefect and all throughout their meeting he had been asking her all about Ginny, trying to hook up with her again. All the while Hermione had been trying to run the meeting as Michael annoyed her.

Ginny laughed as Hermione said this, "He actually thinks he has a chance to get me back? Ha! That's really funny that he thinks he has even the tiniest bit of chance." Ginny just kept laughing, not realizing that Harry was a little mad and worried that Michael was going to be flirting with Ginny this year.

"Don't worry, I told him you would never take him back," Hermione saw Harry's discomfort as she replied to Ginny, "Harry, are you sure you're allowed to sit with us?" she changed the subject, always worrying over breaking the rules.

"Hermione, its fine, everybody knows I'm friends with all of you. What harm can it do?" Harry rhetorically asked her.

"Oh, okay, well that makes sense… I'll just be doing some light reading," Hermione said as she grabbed 'Hogwarts: A History' then she started muttering words that none of the others could catch. The rest of the train ride was like any other, catching up with each other and playing games. When they arrived at Hogsmeade station it was raining. As they walked up to the carriages, they could see and hear the surprise of way to many students who were noticing thestrals for the first time. It was sad to Harry, that many children had to fight a war and had seen the deaths of friends and family. Even Ginny, Hermione, and Neville were a little shocked. They knew what thestrals were, but that was the first time they were seeing them. Harry quickly got a carriage for him and his friends so he wouldn't take in the meaning of so many students seeing thestrals. After the ride up to the castle where it was silent, all of them thinking of what had to be lost to see the magnificent creatures, Harry said goodbye to his friends. He subtly grabbed and squeezed Ginny's hand and left her with a smile before walking to the teachers table.


	3. The Feast

**Chapter Three**

 **The Feast**

Harry took his seat at the staff table; the students had already begun to file in and taking their seats at their respected houses. He sat next to Professor Sprout and a empty chair that was bigger than the other chairs. Harry assumed it must belong to Hagrid. He looked at the doors and notices Ginny, Hermione, Neville, and Luna coming in. Ginny gave off her radiant smile to Harry, and Harry returned the smile as she sat down. He couldn't help but notice how beautiful she was with her flaming red hair flowing down her back. He continues to admire Ginny until he thought that he should try and distract himself from his girlfriend so people wouldn't think she was his girlfriend, so he started a conversation with Professor Sprout.

"Hello Professor, how are you today?" Harry asked.

"Oh hello Mr. Potter," Professor Sprout started when she realized Harry was there. "I'm very well thank you, and how about yourself?"

"Great," Harry replied but he had a desperate need to distract himself from Ginny he kept the conversation going. "How did rebuilding the castle?" Professor McGonagall hadn't let Harry, Hermione or any of the Weasley's help with the rebuilding; she said that they deserved a little vacation after everything that had happened. Although Harry felt a little guilty about that, McGonagall had insisted, and he ended up really enjoying some time off, not having an agenda.

"It wasn't too much trouble, the staircases were a bit tricky, with all of the magical enchantments they need. We did eventually get them fixed properly, obviously. Other than that, everything was repaired by simple charms or repair spells. It was nice that it only took about a month and a half to fix. Wizards and witches from all over came to help each day."

"It's nice to see the magical community all coming together after spending so many years in fear."

"Well it does help when the most feared wizard was defeated, and people started to have hope again."

Both Harry and Sprout laughed as Hagrid sat down on Harry's other side. "'Ello 'arry! It's good ter see you," Hagrid greeted.

"Hello Hagrid," Harry responded, "It's wonderful to see you too. How are you doing?"

"Good, I wen' to France to visit Olymp fer the summer, ye know, get some fresh air, an' res' too."

"That sounds wonderful, nothing like a little vacation for rest and recovery. Did you do any site seeing while you were there?"

Hagrid was about to answer when Professor Flitwick, the new deputy Headmaster, lead the first years up to the Sorting Hat. Once all the first years were standing in the front, the sorting hat began it's annual song:

 _Victory, Victory, oh Victory has come_

 _For the brave, t_ _he cunning,_

 _For the loyal, the wise_

 _Now everyone come together_

 _Despite your differences_

 _Because you may belong in Gryffindor,_

 _With courage beyond belief_

 _Or in Hufflepuff,_

 _Always staying true_

 _Maybe in Ravenclaw,_

 _Where they strive to learn_

 _Finally Slytherin,_

 _Who get what they want_

 _So I'll sort you, tell you where you belong_

 _But don't let this define you_

 _Be all four, not just one_

 _So step on up, and try me on_

 _I'll sort you out_

A round of applauds thundered through the hall once the song was finished. It was a strange for the older students to hear such a cheerful song after years of depressing and scaring words from the sorting hat. But it was a welcome relief for them. Professor Flitwick stepped up again and called out the first name, "Abrams, Jonathan" a boy with short hair stepped up, looking nervous. He started the sorting ceremony by being sorted into Ravenclaw. As the ceremony went on, Harry paid enough attention to get names of the first years, but nothing more. Once all of the new students were sorted, McGonagall introduced the new staff members and welcomed everyone to, or back to, Hogwarts. There were three new teachers for muggle studies, transfiguration teacher, and Defense Against the Dark Arts. The new teachers were Allie Smith, Heidi Bird, and Harry for each of the three classes. Once introductions were done, McGonagall began the feast and everyone was abuzz with catching up and excitement over the new year to come.

After the feast, Harry headed to his new classroom to have a look at it and familiarize himself with his room. In truth, he hoped Ginny would slip away from the others and follow him there. Although they had spent the majority of the day together, he knew that in the days to come, there would be little time for them to get alone time. They may get to spend time together but it would be in public where they would be 'just friends'. It became apparent that Harry knew Ginny well because five minutes later, there she was, knocking on the door which he had left ajar. "Hello Professor," Ginny teased seductively as she walked in. She closed the door behind her then leaned against it.

"Hello Ms. Weasley," Harry replied with a smirk.

"Well are you going to stand there? Or are you going to kiss me?"

"I think the latter will do," he said rapping his arms around her. "Will this do for you?" Harry added just before he kissed her.

"Yes," Ginny whispered, breaking the kiss for a split second.

They spent a little more time snogging before sitting down on Harry's desk to talk and just be together. Time passed to quickly for the young couple. By the time Ginny thought she should get to the common room Harry noticed that it was well past curfew. He escorted Ginny back to the common room, so she wouldn't get in trouble with Filch for being out too late. It also helped that his room was right next to the common room. His room was there because Harry was the Head of the Gryffindor House since he himself was a Gryffindor.

"Victoria oura," Harry said to the Fat Lady.

"Well, well, well what do we have here?" the Fat Lady smirked, looking down at Harry and Ginny's intertwined hands. Both of them blushed and quickly dropped the other's hand, "I take it you two are back together?"

"Yeah we are," Ginny replied with an uncomfortable laugh.

"But please don't tell anyone, since student-teacher relationships isn't allowed, we're suppose to keep it a secret," Harry said, rambling a little. The Fat Lady silently agreed and opened to let them in. There weren't many people in the common room, only Hermione, Neville, Seamus, Dean, and three other Gryffindors that Harry didn't recognize but knew he'd learn who they were through his class.

"Where have you two been?" An angry Hermione met them as they entered the common room.

"We were just looking at my classroom Hermione," Harry replied in a whisper.

"Oh, yeah just 'looking' for two hours?" Hermione sarcastically replied with an eye roll. She was worried that they would get in trouble for being out late, especially now that she was Head Girl, she saw no way around the rules.

"It's fine Hermione, no one saw us," Ginny jumped in, annoyed.

"I know but-" Hermione stopped when the other three Gryffindor walked by them to go up to the dorms. She saw Seamus, Dean, and Neville were still talking by the fireplace where she had been before Harry and Ginny walked in. "Never mind," she finished with a huff. Harry and Ginny were both incredibly stubborn people and Hermione knew she'd never win. Instead, they decided to join the three by the fire. The group of now six, kept talking until midnight when everyone collectively agreed that is was time to go to bed. Good-nights went around and while everyone else walked up to the dorms, Ginny followed Harry to the portrait hole.

"Goodnight Gin, I'll see you tomorrow," Harry said with a kiss.

"Goodnight love," she whispered back before Harry turned to exit the common room and go to his own personal room. Once there, he looked over his schedule for the next day again. The first class he had was second years. He remembered his DADA second year class where they mainly learned about Lockhart and generally useless knowledge that had either no relevance to defense or just was wrong. Harry had decided to teach his second year class about, surprisingly, Cornish Pixies. He wasn't going to set a cage full of them loose on his class, but he was going to teach his class how to defend against some smaller, non life-threatening creatures like Cornish Pixies. He felt prepared for his first day of classes as a teacher. Looking back, Harry never would have thought that he'd end up as a teacher the first year out of Hogwarts. But that could be due to the fact that before, he didn't even know if he would make it through Hogwarts or if Voldemort would have killed him before then. Harry took a deep breath. For the first time, he realized, he actually had a future and a bright one. The majority of his future was filled with a certain red-headed witch who stole his heart years ago without him even realizing it. There would be more time to think of that though, they had their whole lives to spend together and be happy.


	4. The Uninvited Guests

**Chapter Four**

 **The Uninvited Guests**

Once the school year had gotten into full swing, Harry's schedule became easier. He was confident with teaching, figured out how to spend time with Ginny without interruptions, and even had some time to himself. Ron had wrote to him two days after the start of the year, mainly because he was bored out of his mind. Ron had been working with George at the shop to earn some extra money and to help his brother out, but that didn't keep him nearly as busy as he would have liked. They also had been talking about something that Mr. Weasley had told his family. The auror office wasn't doing a good job with rounding up the remaining Death Eaters, so there were many incidents throughout the country of those Death Eaters robbing, killing, and kidnapping various witches and wizards. This concerned Harry, but he knew there was nothing he could do at the time so he decided to put his trust in the aurors that they would do their job swiftly and well. Although Harry couldn't do anything in the present, what he could do is study up on some of the books that aurors were required to read during training. He thought, if he could get ahead then he would be able to help clean up the country faster. In between his fourth year class and sixth year class, Harry went to the library. He was almost certain that Madam Prince would know at least one book that auror-trainees read. Sure enough, she did. Harry checked out three books: _Advanced Transfiguration: Use in Defense, Healing Potions,_ and _How To Defend Against the Unforgivable_. He then hustled back to his classroom for his sixth year class of Gryffindors and Slytherins. When class began, Harry started off by telling them to split into pairs with partners being from the opposite house. Once the pairs were made Harry checked to see if there was a mix in each house then, much like when he taught the D.A. Harry told them to practice using Expelliarmus, one Slytherin asked, "Why? That spell's so simple."

"Well if that spell is so simple then why was that the spell I used to defeat Voldemort? But you're right," Harry said sarcastically. "So why don't we have a little duel see who wins and the only spells I can use is Expelliarmus and Protego, ready? Three... two... one."

"Levicorpus," the Slytherin said while Harry deflected it with a simple non-verbal shield charm.

Then he shot back, "Expelliarumus," and caught the Slytherin's wand and gave it back to him. "You see how I can win a duel with, you say, a simple spell. Now practice, I want to see you all use it," Harry sent them off to practice as he walked around watching each student cast the charm.

Most of the students had it perfect by half way through the class. Others, mainly girls, pretended to not know what to do so Harry would put his hand on theirs and help them. When the end bell rang and class ended, Harry was happy that everyone had mastered the spell and that only some of the Slytherins still thought it was a waste of their time. Harry could tell that a majority of the Slytherin students had followed the Sorting Hat's advice and not be so hostile towards the other houses. It was a big step for Hogwarts. Although it wasn't perfect, Harry could tell, someday, it might be very close to that.

Harry headed to Great Hall for lunch after his class. On his way in, he bumped into McGonagall. Harry was going to wait until that night to talk to her, but since she was there he decided to just ask her then, "Hello Professor."

McGonagall turned expecting to see a student but was greeted by Harry. "Harry, please call me Minerva, and hello."

"I'll try and do that," he laughed, "it might be hard though, you'll always be a professor to me. Anyways, I was wondering if it would be okay to take Hermione out for her birthday tomorrow, because Ron was going to surprise her in Hogsmead if she could get out."

"I suppose that would mean Miss Weasley would also need permission to leave?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Well, although it's unconventional, I believe it would be okay now that you have teacher status. Also, that girl deserves a little break, she is the hardest working student after all. But you will have to be back by ten."

"Thank you," Harry hesitated for a second, "Minerva."

McGonagall smiled at Harry then proceeded into the Great Hall. Harry followed her, content with her answer to his question. After lunch Harry had two open periods which gave him time to send a letter to Ron, telling him that McGonagall had said yes. Harry knew Ron would be thrilled to get to do something for Hermione's birthday, and thrilled that he wouldn't be so bored for one day at least. Seventh years began filing in after Harry's free time was up. He noticed Ginny was the first one to enter, followed by Hermione, Neville, Seamus, Dean, and Luna. Ginny sat down in the desk right in front of Harry, who was sitting on top of his desk. Hermione sat next to her while the others filled in around them. As they entered, Harry counted how many students he had, an odd number, which meant he would pair with a student when they partnered up.

"Okay," he told the seventh years once class had began. "I am going to pair you up and we are going to work on producing a stronger shield. This one is a little tricky because it requires more concentration than a simple protego. However, once cast it will stand on it's own without you constantly trying to hold it up. The incantation for this is protego maxima. So when we all have partners, I want one of you to raise the shield and the other to try to knock it down. Please only use weaker spells to avoid injuries. Now let's pair you up," Harry said purposely starting from the back pairing a Gryffindor with a Ravenclaw to prevent pairs that always worked together. When he got to the front row Luna and Neville ended up with each other and, as Harry planned, he ended up with Ginny. Once he sent the others to work he turned to Ginny and whispered just loud enough for her to hear "stay after class and tell Hermione to also." She smiled as she nodded and started to raise her shield. Harry sent various spells at it, trying to break through but Ginny's shield was too strong. "Very good Miss Weasley," he said, trying to sound serious. Calling his girlfriend 'Miss' sounded a bit funny to Harry. After he had tested Ginny's shield several times, he told her to sit down and he went to check on the rest of the class. Practically everyone in the class had the spell down. Harry wasn't surprised since all of these students had already fought in a war and had to learn quickly.

"Very good class," Harry said when he was back in front of the classroom. "Now, there are even more variations of protego such as protego totalum and protego horribilis. But those are both similar to the spell we just worked on so you all should have no trouble casting either one. We are going to move on to a different defense spell. It's called fumos. Fumos will create a cloud of smoke around you. If you are in a tight spot, this will give you enough cover to escape. I want you all to practice this for the rest of the class. If you do manage to successfully cast this spell please remove it with a simple counter spell."

He, once again, set the class loose to practice on his own. When class ended, a little less than half of the students had preformed the spell. Although it wasn't quite the number Harry wanted, he knew that his students would do their homework and practice the spell. As the students filled out, Hermione and Ginny packed up their books then Ginny sat on her desk and Waite for the other students to leave.

"What did you need Harry?" Hermione when Harry walked up to them.

"Well, I have a special surprise for your birthday tomorrow so I want you two to meet me in my office, tomorrow at four."

"Is there a dress code for this or something?" Ginny questioned sarcastically.

"Actually yes," Harry shot back with a smirk. "Semi-nice clothes, you'll love the surprise." Hermione didn't know how to feel about this. She was overjoyed that Harry was making a big deal out of her birthday, but she wasn't too fond of surprises. Harry saw the uncertainty in her eyes so he put her worries to rest, "Relax Hermione, I have everything under control, and nothing is going to go wrong, and no one is going to break any rules."

"Oh alright... thank you Harry, this means a lot," Hermione kissed him on the cheek. "I'll se you back in the common room Gin."

"So Potter," Ginny began, jumping off the desk. "Am I allowed to be in on the secret?"

"Hmm... let me think... Ah, no," Harry responded as he rapped his arms around her waist.

"Why not?" She pouted.

"Because it's a surprise!"

"I can keep a secret."

"I know you can, but I just want to keep this one to myself, okay?" Ginny reluctantly nodded. "Good, now you should get going if you want to meet Hermione for dinner, I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow," she respond with a kiss.

At promptly four o'clock, Harry heard knocking on his office door. He opened it to find Ginny and Hermione both dressed in nice shirts and nice pants. "Shall we?" Harry asked, holding both of his elbows out for the girls to take.

"Wait, aren't we staying here?" Hermione wondered.

"Nah, that's too boring for a special night like tonight. We're going to Hogsmeade, and before you say anything Hermione, McGonagall already gave us permission to go."

They were just outside the boundaries of Hogwarts when a red headed man walked up to them with a bouquet of flowers. "Happy birthday Hermione," Ron said as Hermione squealed and practically jumped on him, showering him with kisses.

"Oh, Ron, what a lovely surprise, thank you!" Hermione said before she kissed him, yet again. After they broke apart Harry nodded to Ron and he and Ginny continued walking to Hogsmeade while Hermione and Ron caught up with each other.

"They'll catch up," Harry said to Ginny as the left the other two behind.

"This was your plan all along wasn't it?" Ginny asked.

Harry nodded with a smile. "Ron kept writing how much he missed us, but I knew he really just meant Hermione. So I pulled a few strings and got us a pass out of the castle."

"That's really thoughtful of you Potter. So where are we going for dinner?"

"You'll see," Harry said smiling. They didn't talk again until they stopped in front of a restaurant that had just opened up that summer. "We're here," Harry opened the door for her. Ginny's eyes grew wide as she took in the beauty of the restaurant, it was elegant but not, over the top fancy. She was taking everything in as Harry got their seats. The tables were black and round while the walls were a dark red, and pictures of famous people who ate at other branches of the restaurant lined the wall. They were seated at a table for four fairly quickly since Harry had made reservations in advance. When it was time for them to order, Ron and Hermione still hadn't arrived at the restaurant, so Harry ordered for them. He and Ginny didn't talk much, they didn't need to. They just sat in comfortable silence, occasionally asking a question to the other or bringing up a short conversation. They didn't care though. They were relishing in getting to spend time together, more than just a couple minutes, for the first time that week. They were in the middle of talking about Quidditch try-outs when Hermione and Ron finally joined them, and not too much later, their food. The four-some enjoyed their quiet evening together. Ron talked about working at the shop with George. Hermione talked about how fascinating her classes were that year. Ginny talked about Quidditch. And Harry was just content to sit there and listen to all of them.

At the end of dinner, everyone gave Hermione her gifts. Harry had gotten her a new quill that was ten times nicer than her old, worn out quill. Ginny gave her a book called _How to Tame Your Wizard_ which made everyone but Ron laugh, who was too busy glaring at his sister. When the laughter died down, Ron huffed and gave Hermione his gift: a small, teardrop sapphire necklace. Hermione gasped at it's beauty and asked Ron to put it on for her. Hermione couldn't be happier with Ron at that moment. Harry and Ginny got up to leave as Hermione continued to thank Ron. They were half way to the door when the manager of the restaurant came up and asked to take Harry's picture. He was thrilled that 'The Harry Potter' was eating at his restaurant and that Harry had agreed to let him take his picture. Once Harry and Ginny got out of the restaurant, they started walking down the street back to Hogwarts. It was a nice night out, the star shown bright as the two walked on the path towards Hogwarts. Harry's arm was around Ginny's waist, and Ginny's arm around his. He couldn't believe how perfect the night had turned out, until...

"Avada Kedavra," a man shouted from behind them, Harry and Ginny ducked while pulling out their wands and turning around while Ginny protected them. Another curse came flying at them; Harry remembered what he read in _How to Defend Against the Unforgivable_ and blocked it by enlarging a rock that he levitated off the ground. The killing curse hit the rock and the rock exploded. Harry noticed that their attackers were closing in around them blocking off their escape routes. Harry sent a patronus to McGonagall, calling for help while he and Ginny did the best they could to block all the spells their attackers were sending at them. It took about ten minutes before Harry saw the teachers out of the corner of his eye, coming to help.

"Ginny!" Harry screamed as she fell while he had been distracted by the coming teachers. He tried holding their attackers off as long as possible, but he simply couldn't. Harry was hit with the same spell as Ginny and, he too, fell into an unconscious state on the ground.


	5. Realizing

**Chapter Five**

 **Realizing**

Harry woke up to find himself in the hospital wing, "ugh, what happened?" he asked. Harry couldn't remember how he got there or what had put him there. He sat up in his bed to take in his surroundings more and comprehend what was happening.

"You and Miss Weasley were hit by a curse, we have yet to figure out what curse however" McGonagall replied. She was sitting in a chair between the two beds Harry and Ginny were laying in.

Harry's eyes grew wide, "Is she okay?" He looked past McGonagall at Ginny who was still laying unconscious. On the surface she looked okay, but Harry knew there could be internal damage that he wouldn't be able to see.

"She's going to be okay," McGonagall replied, "There are no signs of any damage, as far as we know. But how are you feeling Harry?"

Harry ran a hand over his face, "Like I got hit by a bus, haha, ow."

"That is too be expected," Madam Pomfrey jumped in, "I recommend you take it easy for the next few days at least Mr. Potter, especially since we don't know what's affecting you. Honestly, Mr. Potter, I thought now that you aren't a student I would be seeing less of you in here."

"Sorry Madam Pomphrey, I just couldn't stay away, I thought you'd miss me too much," all three laughed.

There was a brief pause before McGonagall said, "Do you remember what happened?"

"Um, all I remember is Ginny and I had just gotten done with dinner and were walking back to the school while Ron and Hermione finished up. That's all I remember," Harry replied. "What happened after that?

"From what we could gather, they attacked you as you were walking back, I received a patronus from you saying that you and Miss Weasley needed help because you were under attack," McGonagall told him.

"Minerva what happened to the people attacking us?"

"Once the others and myself arrived, they saw they were outnumbered and they all dissaparated."

"So we don't know who they were?"

"I'm afraid not, we-"

McGonagall was cut of by a weak whisper from Ginny, "Harry?"

"It's all right Gin; we're in the hospital wing."

"What happened?" She asked.

As McGonagall replied to Ginny, Madam Pomfrey made Harry drink a potion. Now that Ginny was awake, Madam Pomphrey noticed that they both didn't remember anything from the attack. At first Pomphrey thought Harry might have just hit his head when he fell which caused the memory loss. When McGonagall had finished retelling what had happened and Ginny had answered Pomphrey on how she felt, Harry asked, "How long have we been out?"

"Only about twelve hours," McGonagall answered.

"Have you told any of the students?"

"No, I think it would be best if as few people as possible knew about this until we figure out more."

"I agree, no need to worry them when we don't know all the facts. Where are Ron and Hermione?"

"Ron and Hermione came here then I sent Hermione back to her common room and Ron back home as it had gotten quite late," McGonagall explained.

"I sent them patronus to let them know you two are alright," Pomphrey added. Harry nodded and laid back down out of exhaustion.

"Aurors searched for any traces of your attackers but came up with nothing," McGonagall informed them. "I doubt this will be the last time we encounter them," Harry nodded. He knew this wouldn't be a one occurrence, especially because they failed to kill him. He just hoped no one else would get hurt in the process. "I will have Kreacher bring you your meals for the rest of the day. Now I must go address the rest of the staff, I suggest you two come up with an alibi before tomorrow. Good-day."

Harry and Ginny said goodbye. McGonagall got up to leave the Hospital Wing and Madam Pomphrey came back carrying a potion that she had made Harry drink before. She handed Ginny the potion and said, "Drink up Miss Weasley. I want both of you to stay here for the rest of the day and take it easy for the rest of the week. And I want you both to come back everyday this week so I can check up on you. We still don't know what curse you were hit by and therefore, don't know what side effects it may have."

"Thank you Madam Pomphrey," Ginny said, confirming that they understood.

Madam Pomphrey went back into her office once Ginny had finished the potion. A minute or two after the door had closed to Pomphrey's office, Harry asked, "Well, what's our alibi?"

"I don't know, maybe we could say something like, mum got hurt or something, nothing serious, and I was told I could go see her in Hogsmeade as long as you were with me," Ginny thought out loud.

"I like it. How'd you come up with that so fast?"

"Well, I figured I needed an alibi if anyone outside our little friend group asked where I was last night."

"Smart," Harry smiled, "We can say that she hurt her head, that way it's serious enough to need you to leave, but not too much," Harry finished.

"Well we've got our alibi," Ginny smiled back at him.

* * *

Minerva was sitting at her desk going through some old files of Dumbledore, dinner had just ended and she had nothing better to do until she would visit Harry and Ginny at eight to make sure they were all right before they were let out. She also wanted to be there as Poppy preformed some tests on the two to try and identify the curse that was used on them. Minerva looked at her watch it was quarter to seven, _I never knew I would miss teaching this much_ , she sighed to herself, taking off her glasses and rubbing her eyes.

"Oh, Minerva!" Poppy Pomfrey cried as she came running into the Headmistress office. "They're not waking, I told them to get some more sleep shortly after you left and they did. But they should have woken up by now. I've tried to wake them with anything I can but they just simply won't wake!" Minerva stood up quickly and started walking towards the Hospital Wing with Poppy trailing close behind her. They arrived and Minerva saw Harry and Ginny laying there, she tried a charm to wake them and transfigured things into animals that would make noise to try and wake them.

"Okay, let's take a breath," Poppy nodded and took a deep breath in and out. "Good, now I'm going to fetch Filius, perhaps he will know a stronger charm. While I do that will you please locate Miss Granger, Mister Longbottom, and Miss Lovegood? Let them know what has happened, they surely deserve to know they are good friends with Harry and Miss Weasley," Poppy nodded and set off to find the two. When Minerva got to Filius's classroom she told him about the situation and they quickly headed off to the Hospital Wing. Minerva made a mental decision to summon a healer to Hogwarts and, if it came to it, Miss Weasley's parents. In the Hospital Wing Filius tried every charm he knew to wake a person and none of them worked. Minerva sent a patronus to St. Mungo's for a more advanced healer as Poppy entered with Miss Granger, Mister Longbottom, and Miss Lovegood in tow.

"Professor are they going to be alright?" Miss Granger asked frantically.

"I do not know yet, Miss Granger, but I do hope so," Minerva replied hopelessly.

* * *

Harry looked around, it was during the war he was in the Great Hall and Voldemort was speaking, but it wasn't what happened as Harry remembered it, it was twisted and it scarred him a little. "Come to me Harry Potter," Voldemort hissed, it echoed in the Great Hall making everyone but Harry, who was determined to hear what Voldemort was saying, clutch their ears. "Come to me Harry Potter and the blood-traitor girl Weasley might have a chance of living," Harry froze, Voldemort had Ginny. Harry didn't even notice the silence that was pressing on his ears, or the fact that everyone in the room was staring at him. All he could think about was Ginny, how to save her. Harry bolted out the door towards the forbidden forest, he had to save her, was all that was on his mind. The girl he loved was going to die if he didn't save her. Harry entered the clearing that he knew Voldemort was in and saw her. She lay at the feet of Voldemort and had cuts everywhere. Her clothes were torn to shreds. She was begging for death.

"Why couldn't you save me Harry?" She yelled when she noticed Harry, "I thought I loved you but you can't even save my life. You can't save anyone! You're worthless and deserve to die. I hate you Harry, I. Hate. You." She screamed at him who was standing dumbstruck, "kill me! Do it! kill me Harry! It's the least thing you can do so he doesn't kill me you selfish git," she added before there was a green light and then Harry saw a bruised and cut, dead, Ginny laying on the ground.

"No," Harry screamed, his eyes tearing up.

"You see Potter, you're worthless," Voldemort hissed, "You lose Harry Potter, you lose," Another green light flashed bright and Harry too, lay dead on the ground.

* * *

Harry's eyes shot open and he bolted upright. He saw McGonagall, Hermione, Neville, Luna, Madam Pomfrey, and an unknown man surround his bed and the one next to him. He looked to the opposite bed and watched the still form of Ginny. Her chest slowly moved up and down which was enough to ensure Harry that she was alive, he assumed she was just sleeping. He had no idea that it was more serious than a simple nap. Harry was panting hard from his nightmare. There was a clutter of potions and other medical devises around him. He looked over to Ginny as the Healer eased him down to be laying again. Everyone in the room was concerned, they didn't know what had cause him to be in such a state, nor did they know why he had suddenly woken up when everything they tried before to wake him up, failed. He didn't notice the other's faces though, all he was focused on was his girlfriend.

"What's everyone here for?" He asked, but no one answered.

"Harry, are you alright?" Hermione asked concern etched on her face.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be? I just had a bad dream," Harry replied, confused. He slowly sat up this time, expecting to be pushed back down. When he didn't get any resistance, he leaned against the headboard, "what's going on?"

"You weren't waking, everyone was worried, and none of us could wake you," Hermione explained, Harry gave her a go-on look, "the healer says you went into a coma."

McGonagall added, "You will also not be teaching your classes on Monday, Harry. We are not sure what to except next and don't want to put anyone's lives in danger."

"That's rubbish! I'll be fine! I've survived the killing curse... Twice!" Harry exclaimed.

"We know Harry but please just stay here," McGonagall sighed, "we don't know what we're dealing with."

"Fine," Harry said in defeat. "Wait, if I wasn't waking up, what about Ginny?"

This time it was the healer who spoke, "We are doing everything in our power to wake her but so far nothing has worked. She woke up briefly about ten minutes before you woke up, but tried to stand up and walk to you. She passed out again and we haven't been able to wake her since. Which is why I must insist that you do not get up from this bed."

Harry nodded trying to stay calm, he was more worried about Ginny than he was about himself. "Will you all please let me have some privacy with Mr. Potter, I would like to ask him some questions," the healer asked before shutting the curtains around his bed. Although the rest of the group would still be able to hear them, as they didn't want to leave with Ginny still unconscious, it gave the appearance of privacy.

"Now Mr. Potter," the healer started. "Did you have a dream?" Harry nodded, "what was it about?"

"It was during the war, but everything was different. Voldemort, had Ginny and he called for me to come save her. When I got there she had cuts and bruises everywhere... she was, was begging for me to kill her since it was the least I could do because I abandoned her but then Voldemort... Voldemort killed her."

"And did you scream no in your dream?"

"Yeah, how did you know?"

"You screamed out loud which I'm guessing is a sign that the person in question is about to wake," the healer deducted. "I'm also guessing part of this curse is like the potion, I'm not sure if you would recognize it by its name but, it causes a person to relive their worst memories."

"Yeah I know that potion," Harry said remembering the night Dumbledore died and he had to drink the potion. "But sir, that wasn't a memory."

"Yes, well, again I'm just guessing here, but I think this curse will do several more things. It seems that it takes a bad memory of yours and combines it with your worst fear. I would like to do some tests on you so we can find out what this curse exactly is, please take off your shirt," the healer said. Harry took it off without question. If Harry's fear had been Ginny dying, he didn't want to imagine what she was going through. The healer was surprised, apparently he had not seen that many scars on one person in his entire life, Harry had the scar from the locket, the scar from the second killing curse and more than a dozen from the battle of Hogwarts alone. "Well, Mr. Potter what's the biggest scar from?"

"The second time Voldemort used the killing curse on me," Harry shrugged.

"It looks to new for getting it back in early May; in your dream did Voldemort kill you?" Harry nodded. "Well then I would like you to drink this potion and let me wrap this around your chest," he said holding up a funny looking bandage. "It's a way, not only to help your scars, but also let me know when your heart is beating faster than normal. This curse may be affecting you in more than just a mental way. I am going to preform a spell that will tell me when these cuts and scars were made." Harry nodded and watched as the healer mumbled something under his breath. Harry couldn't see any indications that the spell had worked but the healer spoke up, "Now, according to my test, where you were hit by the killing curse, that scar has two dates of conception, May 2nd, and today. I will want to look into that more late. But first, I take it you know quite a lot about Miss Weasley," Harry confirmed him with a nod. "Can you tell me what her worst memory is? If we know that I may be able to predict what her dream will be about and when she will be able to wake up."

"I don't know for sure, but probably when she found out her brother was dead," Harry replied trying to rake his memory for anything Ginny might have told him that was her worst memory.

"And her worst fear?"

"I'd say the same as mine, loosing me."

"That's very helpful Mr. Potter, thank you. Now, I am going to give you a potion which will cause you to have a light sleep. You will not go into REM sleep which should prevent you from not waking up."

"But I want to be up when Ginny wakes!" Harry protested.

"I'm sure you do, and once she wakes, we'll be able to wake you easily."

Harry agreed reluctantly. He couldn't lose her, he loved Ginny and knew, one day, he'd marry her. _Yes,_ Harry thought, _I love her and I'm going to marry her._


	6. Finally Awake

A/N: Sorry this took so long! I was on vacation!

 **Chapter Six**

 **Finally Awake**

"Thank you Mister Potter, I will be doing some tests on Miss Weasley, I will let you know how they go," the healer told Harry. Harry lay there and thought about his what he had realized. He knew always knew on some level that he loved Ginny and that he wanted to marry her, but he had never admitted it to himself. Now all he had to do was admit it to her. The only problem was he didn't know when, or even _if,_ she would wake up and when they would be alone again. He sighed to himself and took off his glasses. Harry rubbed his eyes and his stomach growled. He just realized that he hadn't ate anything since the night before when they had dinner. Harry asked the healer if it was okay for him to eat something. The healer nodded and Luna volunteered to go to the kitchen to find something for Harry. She was back within minutes with food for Harry. He scarfed it down like a pack of hungry wild wolves because he was so hungry. When he was done Harry started a conversation with Hermione, Neville, and Luna to keep his mind off of Ginny. Pomphrey and McGonagall had long gone into Pomphrey's office so they wouldn't be too far away if anything changed.

"Yes this should do it," the healer suddenly said to himself but not quietly. All four young adults looked over. They sat there, watching the healer for a few minutes when a faint, "Harry?" was heard from a frail Ginny Weasley.

"I will go get Professor McGonagall and tell her that you are awake," the healer started. "While I'm gone, Mister Potter please no sudden movements and Miss Weasley do not do anything besides sit up, and do so slowly," the healer instructed as he left for the office. Harry slowly stood up and walked over to Ginny. When he reached her bed he gathered her in his arms.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine," she replied then asked, "what happened?"

Hermione stepped up to explain what the healer said to them and Harry before. She told Ginny about how they hadn't been able to wake them and how worried they were. Harry stepped in to tell her what the healer had told him about the dream she most likely had. Ginny nodded in understanding what he was saying. "What did you see?" She asked.

"You," Harry said blushing, "um, you had cuts and brides all over yourself and we were in the Forbidden Forest. You were telling me to kill you since I was a git and selfish that it was the least I could do for you. But Voldemort killed you, and then he killed me."

"Harry you know I would never say something like that," Ginny said quickly.

"I know, I'm okay," Harry replied before closing the gap between their mouths. It felt reassuring to Harry to have Ginny's lips against his; it was like they hadn't even been hit by an unknown curse. When they broke Harry wrapped his arms around Ginny again they were reassuring each other that they were alright.

Later that night, around eleven, they were cleared to sleep as long as they took a light-sleep potion first. Before they fell asleep however, Harry turned to Ginny, "Are you feeling okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine... well, kind of," Ginny replied. "My stomach feels like it's kind of doing flips, you know what I mean?"

"Yeah, my stomach feels like that too, mixed with a feeling of someone punching me in the gut."

"Yeah," Ginny agreed, "do you think we should tell healer Mandler?" Noah Mandler they learned was their healer's name after the initial rush of both of them waking up died down.

"Well, let's see what he found out in the tests first, and then we'll tell him if he doesn't already know."

"Agreed."

There was a brief silence before Harry spoke up again, "Hey, Gin?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

Ginny had been half asleep when Harry said that, her eyes shot open and a huge grin plastered on her face, "I love you too Potter."

* * *

(Hermione's PoV)

"Hermione?" Neville said as he approached her. Hermione was sitting on the couch in the Gryffindor common room with dozens of spell books cluttered around her, all of them were old. She looked up at Neville, temporarily putting her frantic search of trying to find out what spell Harry and Ginny had been hit with. "Hermione I promised Ginny that I would make sure you didn't stay up too late studying," Neville continued and Hermione sighed. Ever since term started Ginny would be constantly dragging Hermione up to her room so she could get some sleep and now that she wasn't there to do it she gave the job to Neville.

"Thanks Neville, but I'm trying to find out what spell Harry and Ginny were hit by. Besides, it's only ten thirty, at least give me thirty more minutes," Hermione pleaded like a little girl wanting candy.

"Fine, would you like some help?"

"Oh, yes, that'd be great, thanks! Here," she said handing Neville a very old looking book. "There's a summary of every spell in that book in the beginning."

Neville nodded and set off to work and Hermione continued looking through the summaries in the book she currently had. After about fifteen minutes of endless searching that came up with nothing, Hermione turned a page to come across a spell named Dolore Usque ad Mortem. She started to read the description of it and noticed it too was in Latin, _why is all of this is in latin but none of the others are?_ Hermione asked herself before getting a pencil and circling the spell then she stuck the pencil in the book to keep the page marked before she closed it.

"Neville I think that's enough for tonight, will you help me clean these books up and bring them back tomorrow?"

"Sure and then after we stop at the library we can visit Harry and Ginny," Hermione nodded in agreement as she and Neville started stacking the books on the table.

"Well go between our first two classes, I'm pretty sure we both have a free period?"

"Yeah we do, I'll see you tomorrow, 'night Hermione."

"Goodnight Neville."

* * *

(Harry's PoV)

"Harry, are you awake?" Ginny asked a little after the clock in the Hospital Wing struck twelve.

"Yeah... Can't sleep, how about you?" Harry replied, he had only slept for a little over forty minutes before waking up again with stomach pains.

"Me neither," Ginny sighed. "It's going to be a long night I'm guessing."

"Yes it is," Harry agreed sighing, _why do things like this always happen to me?_ He asked himself.

"You know, when I was five, the bed time story my parents told me was of The Boy Who Lived," Ginny said laughing. "And I remember when I was seven, Mum and Dad were busy putting my brothers to bed so I asked Bill to tell me your story. When he finished I told him that, someday, I was going to marry you," Ginny recalled.

"Do you still think that?" Harry asked with a smile.

"Of course, that is one of my dreams that hasn't changed. Though before I was in love with for your story and how you defeated Voldemort. But now I'm in love with you for you, Harry, your selflessness, amazing sense of humor, your strength, and you, you're just, Harry. Not _The_ Harry Potter, the boy-who-lived, the chosen-one, not even because you're the one who defeated Voldemort, just, you. Just, Harry."

"Thanks Gin," Harry smiled and was grateful that he could have a girl as wonderful as Ginny.

Harry was about to add something when a sharp pain cut through his stomach, both Ginny and Harry groaned as they clutched their stomachs. Then it repeated, then again and again.

"I'll... send... for..." Harry gasped, not able to finish his sentence. He desperately groped for his wand that lay on his bedside table. When he found it, all his concentration went into ignoring the constant pain and focusing on the spell. All Harry and Ginny could do was watch as the silvery glowing stag ran off in the direction of Healer Mandler's temporary room. It didn't take long before both of them were desperately gasping for breath as a new sensation of someone squeezing their lungs came on. Before the Healer could get their, both of them had passed out from the pain that was too violent for them to handle. Mandler was busy at work by the time McGonagall got there, Pomphrey had informed her after Mandler had shouted for her to help. Pomphrey and Mandler were doing all they could to get the two breathing regularly and to wake them. With them unconscious, much was left unknown, and there was little the healers could do to help.

* * *

(Hermione's PoV)

Hermione and Neville were on their way to the library after they completed the first class they had on Monday's. With each of them carrying half of the books that Hermione had checked out, it made the load a lot lighter, yet still heavy. They were talking about their class they had already attended as they entered the library. All morning, they had both been oblivious to what had happened in the Hospital wing early that morning and how it was still unknown if Harry and Ginny would wake up. Hermione and Neville returned all the books except the one with the spell Hermione wanted to find out about.

"Before we go check on Harry and Ginny, we have to find an English-Latin dictionary... You see I found this spell and it was the only spell in the book that was in Latin. It's called Dolore Usque ad Mortem, and I want to find out more about it. Will you help me find a dictionary so I can translate it?" Hermione asked.

"Sure," Neville shrugged.

"Oh, thank you so much Neville," she squealed before they went to get a dictionary. After they found it they began to translate the name. Hermione flipped through the pages of the dictionary until she found the full meaning of the spell and a little description. "The name means, Pain even to the death. It says here that there are several different side-effects, each one progressively worse. They will continue until one of the side-effects has killed the person in question."

The two stared at each other, wide eyed. This revelation could drastically help Healer Mandler, "Neville, we have to show this to McGonagall and the healer," Hermione said as she shut the books so the dictionary was a book mark for the other book. They sprinted to the Hospital Wing. They were greeted with Madame Pomphrey saying "I can feel a steady pulse in Miss Weasley neck," when they opened the doors to the Hospital Wing.

"Same here with Potter," Mandler replied with a sigh of thankfulness. A silence settled over the room as Hermione and Neville approached the beds. "Here make Weasley drink this," Manlder handed Pomphrey a potion while he held a twin that he would force down Harry's throat. "It will help them wake up, that way they should be coming around in a few moments."

"What's going on?" Hermione jumped in, concerned. McGonagall looked over at Hermione from her place where she observed everything that was going on with the two still unconscious as Mandler and Pomphrey tipped the potions into the mouths of their patients.

"Early this morning, Potter and Weasley fell into a fit of pains with erratic breathing. By the time we arrived to help, they had both become unconscious. Since then, their breathing and heartbeats have stabilized, now we are just trying to get them to wake up," McGonagall summarized to ease the worried looks on Hermione and Neville's faces.

McGonagall conjured two chairs for Pomphrey and Mandler could sit now that they were done with their constant tries to wake and calm the patients bodies. Both healers slumped down in the chairs, exhausted. Not only were they exhausted from the work but also since they had they were woken up in the middle of the night, they didn't get a lot of sleep. Sitting in the chairs was refreshing for the two. In the silence that occurred after the two were seated, Hermione decided to step up and share what she found. "Um, I was doing a little research in some old books of spells, Neville helped me, and we found this," she held up the book. "Obviously it is all in Latin, so we went to the library to get a rough translation, I wrote it down here," Hermione pulled out her parchment that she had scribbled down on and read from it, "This spell can be as deadly as the Killing Curse. It has many stages after the subject is hit with the spell. The first, and least lethal, is a forced coma that will force the victim to see a memory of theirs mixed with their worst fear. The several different side-effects will each get progressively worse until one of the side-effects has killed the person in question."

Hermione stopped and looked up, silently asking if she should go on. Healer Mandler answered her question, "Well, now at least we know a little more about this curse but we need to know how to stop it. Does it say anything about how long there is between side-effects?"

"Yes, roughly... twelve hours, it's not always precise."

Mandler ran a hand across his face with a sigh, "At least that gives us time for them to wake up and for us to figure out how to cure it."

"It actually has a counter curse but it says it has to be preform after this potion is taken."

They all looked at the parchment that Hermione was holding. She had written down the ingredients and the steps. "I will contact Horace and have him make two potions for them," McGonagall volunteered.

"Yes, please do, however, we won't be able to administer the potion and counter curse until they wake up," Mandler added.

"May I?" McGonagall asked, pointing to the parchment with the potion on it, Hermione nodded, "I will contact Horace." She promptly left, intending to interrupt Slughorn's class as it was more important for him to make the potion. If not made quickly, their lives could be in danger.

About ten minutes after McGonagall left, Harry and Ginny started coughing and gasping for air again, they were coming back around. Mandler waited until they were breathing normal to do some tests on them. He checked their intestines and lungs, there was no apparent long term damage which was a good sign. Half an hour later, the potions were made and Mandler preformed the counter curse.


	7. Memories

**Chapter Seven**

 **Memories**

Harry and Ginny were supposed to stay in the Hospital Wing for the rest of Monday, and part of Tuesday. Madam Pomfrey always made a big fuss over her patients, but in this case, Healer Mandler agreed with her that they should stay for observation. In the mean time, McGonagall had contacted Mr. and Mrs. Weasley to let them know what had happened. It wasn't usual for parents to visit their children in the Hospital Wing, however, this was a special case and, although it wasn't ethical, the two sitting in the beds were some of McGonagall's favorite. It was about an hour before dinner when Mrs. Weasley came barging through the door, Mr. Weasley following calmly behind. Mrs. Weasley ran towards Harry and Ginny, giving each of them a hug in turn.

"Oh, I'm so sorry dears!" Mrs. Weasley cried as she let go of Harry, "At first we thought you were alright because of what Ron said but then when we heard from McGonagall we couldn't get here until today and-"

"Mum, mum!" Ginny said cutting off Mrs. Weasley from her endless ramble. "It's fine, we're fine!"

"I'm glad to see you two are alright," Mr. Weasley said, stepping up and putting his arm around Mrs. Weasley, comforting her.

"Thanks," Harry and Ginny said together. After Mrs. Weasley doubled and tripled checked that the two were okay, Healer Mandler came back in to check up on his patients. He also informed Mr. and Mrs. Weasley of what had happened to their daughter and her boyfriend. As he explained, Mrs. Weasley's face held a variety of emotion, from relief, to fear, and sadness. Mr. Weasley sat there, his face stoic as he took it all in. It wasn't until Mrs. Weasley croaked out a sob that he moved to comfort her. Although Ginny was okay, it was far to close of a call for Mrs. Weasley. She had already lost one child that year, she didn't want to lose another. Ginny slowly got up and walked over to her mother. She rapped her arms around her mother and buried her head in her shoulder.

"I'm okay mum, I'm fine, I'm right here," Ginny whispered.

* * *

The next afternoon, Harry and Ginny were released from the Hospital Wing and were excused from classes for the rest of the day as they had already missed half of them. They sneaked up to Harry's office to pass the day together. It wasn't very hard for them to get there unnoticed considering everyone was in classes or out by the lake if they had a free period. Once they got to Harry's office he gave the gargoyle his password and the two entered. The walls of the office were painted two colors: red and gold, Gryffindor colors. Ginny noticed the pictures Harry had, on the mantle of the fire there was a picture of his parents, and the D.A. There was also pictures of the Weasley's plus Harry, Hermione, and Fleur, one of Harry, Ron and Hermione, another Harry and Hagrid, finally one of Ginny and Harry, and one of just Ginny. Ginny went to sit on Harry's desk chair as Harry ignited the candles to give the room light. She put her feet on his bed and looked over to the picture on his desk, there was only one. It was of Harry and Ginny after the war on Ginny's birthday. In the picture they were smiling at the camera then turn to each other, thinking the picture taker had left, and kissed. Harry vividly remembered that day...

 _August Eleventh_

 _Harry was in his room, finishing getting dressed for Ginny's birthday. He looked nice, but not over the top fancy since it was just a day in at the Burrow. He tried to flatten down his hair, knowing he wouldn't succeed but tired, nonetheless. After about a minute of fruitless attempts, he left his room and headed to the kitchen. Mrs. Weasley was already up and putting the finishing touches on Ginny's birthday breakfast as she hummed to herself. She turned around as Harry walked into the kitchen._

 _"Oh, Harry!" She exclaimed, "I'm glad you're up. You can bring Ginny her breakfast!"_

 _"Of course Mrs. Weasley," Harry replied taking the tray and heading right back up the stairs._

 _"Thank you dear," she called out after him._

 _He quietly opened her door and shut it behind him then set the tray down on the desk in the room. Harry tipped-toes over to her bed in order to wake her up. He sat down on her bed and gently ran his fingers up and down her bare arm. "Gin, Gin, it's time to wake up," Harry cooed. He watched as her eyes flutter open and leaned down to place a gentle kiss on her lips. "Morning," he said with a smile._

 _"Mmm, morning," she replied and leaned in to kiss him again, before flirtatiously adding "I like waking up that way."_

 _"I bet you do," he laughed. "Happy birthday!"_

 _Ginny's face lit up as she pulled Harry down for yet another kiss. This kiss was more passionate, and longer, causing Ginny moan. Harry deepen the kiss by moving one of his hands from her hair to her lower back. The kiss grew more frantic and before they knew it Harry's shirt was laying on the floor. They were both caught up in the moment of each other, not wanting it to end. But it wasn't too long before Harry finally came back to reality. He realized where they were and who else was in the house._

 _"Gin, Gin," Harry said after he pulled away, out of breath, "We gotta stop."_

 _She nodded as they caught their breath. After they were breathing normally, Ginny kissed Harry once more. "Thanks," she whispered._

 _"For what?"_

 _"Making my birthday already pretty great."_

 _They both laughed as Harry got up from her bed to retrieve his shirts that were discarded on the floor. Once his shirt was on he turned to the breakfast he brought up._ _"Um, your mum had me bring you breakfast."_

 _"Oh, oh yeah, I better eat that so mum doesn't have a fit," she replied. After she ate quickly, Harry brought the empty tray down to Mrs. Weasley while Ginny got dressed._ _Later that night, once everyone had arrived, the party started with some dancing, talking and eating. When the sun fell, they bewitched lanterns that had either 'Ginny', or '17' on them, so they would fly. They had cake and Ginny opened all of her gifts except one; Harry's._

 _Harry whispered in her ear, "I wanted to give you your gift in privet."_

 _"Oh, Harry you didn't have to get me anything," Ginny said as she took his hand he offered and followed him away from everyone else._

 _"I know, I know but I wanted too, and please just let me spoil you a little, okay?" Harry paused as Ginny nodded, then he handed her the gift. As she took off the wrapping paper Harry glanced over at the trees. For a split second he thought he saw something move but pushed it to the back of his mind because Ginny had gotten the wrapping paper off._

 _As Ginny opened it she gasped, "oh Harry! It's beautiful! Can you put it on me?" In the box lay a silver necklace with six small charms and one big one. The six small ones that were all silver were: a Quaffle, the Gryffindor Crest, the Weasley Crest, a wand, an owl, and a heart. While the big gold one which was in the center of all of them was a lightning bolt. Harry took the necklace out of the box as Ginny turned around so he could put it on her. Once it was on Ginny turned back around with a grin that couldn't get any bigger._

 _"Happy birthday love," Harry said right before Ginny closed the gap between them. Their lips moved simultaneously. No other person in the world mattered to them but the other. They were also oblivious about the fact that the music had stopped playing and everyone was watching the two people who, they all knew, were in love. Nobody noticed the other person, who had not been invited to the party, watching the two. The person was lurking in the shadows of the trees, not wanting to be noticed and left before the two broke apart._

 _When Harry and Ginny broke apart, there was several wolf whistles from the guests and the couple blushed deeply. Once everyone had gone back to their drinks and conversations Mr. and Mrs. Weasley came up to get a picture of the two. When Mrs. Weasley saw Ginny's necklace she gaped over it, "it's beautiful dear!" She said before saying, "here let's get a picture of you two," Mr. Weasley held up the camera and took the picture. The two older Weasley's decided to let the two talk and left them._

The necklace Harry had gave Ginny, she was currently wearing. Ginny wore it all the time, even if it just lay hidden under her shirt. Harry came over and sat down by her. All they did was talk until dinner. They talked about the curse and the attack at Hogsmeade but kept it light. Their conversation went on and they switched topics again and again. Harry loved the fact that Ginny was so honest which just proved the fact that Harry wanted to marry Ginny.


	8. Godric's Hallow

**Chapter Eight**

 **Godric's Hallow**

The weeks flew by for Harry once all the chaos from the attack died down. Everyone was told that the two sustained minor injuries that caused Madam Pomphrey to hold them for a few days for them to heal and so she could keep an eye on them. No one was told the severity of the attack. Before Harry knew it though, it was Halloween. It was a Saturday causing almost everyone to be down by the lake on the unusually warm October day. It was like the calm before the storm for the students. Once November came, the cold came and then finals for the first semester which caused a general panic in the school. Which is why everyone was taking advantage of the warm weather and day off. Harry wasn't like the rest of the population of the school, he was heading to the Headmistresses office.

"Come in," McGonagall called from her desk, "Hello Harry."

"Hello Minerva," Harry replied, still unused to calling his old Professor by her first name. "I was wondering if it would be alright if I leave the grounds to go to Godric's Hallow?"

"To visit you parents graves?" McGonagall took off her glasses and looked up.

"Yeah, it's the anniversary of their death."

"That would be completely okay. As long as you are back before curfew, we do not need Filch going off about teachers too," McGonagall's mouth cracked a small smile and her eyes twinkled at her joke.

Harry chuckled, "We absolutely don't need that, but I will probably be back before then anyways."

"Very good then."

"Thank you Minerva, I'll see you later," Harry rose from his seat to leave.

"You're welcome Harry."

Harry left her office but instead of leaving right away, he decided to stop by the kitchen to get a small lunch considering he'd be missing the normal lunch time. After eating quickly, he headed for outside the apparition line. He walked across the grounds, passing students who weren't used to seeing a teacher actually out and having a life on their days off. Being used to being stared at, Harry didn't notice any of them, he just kept walking towards a group of seventh years that he had his eyes set on. Before he even reached the group, Ginny spotted him. She smiled at him and just watched as he walked over.

"Hey guys," Harry announced himself. "How were classes this week, I feel like I haven't really talked to any of you?"

"Excellent," Hermione exclaimed, "I'm learning so much in Potions, now that Slughorn actually decided to teach us instead of just using Hogwarts as a shelter."

"Hermione!" Ginny cried, "You have certainly stopped thinking every teacher is holy. I'm so proud of you!" Everyone laughed as Ginny jumped on Hermione for a hug. Hermione certainly had been going away from her Miss I-do-nothing-wrong persona, and really had been showing more of her loose personality and they all loved it. The group talked for a few minutes before Harry decided he really needed to get going if he wanted to be back by dinner like he planned.

"Well I better be going, I gotta be back before dinner to do some grading," Harry informed, "I'll see you all later."

He stood up from his spot on the ground he had taken when the conversation started. Harry took one last glance at Ginny before leaving. The worry shown in her eyes paralleled those of Hermione. They both knew that it would be hard for Harry to be able to visit his parents on the anniversary of their death for the first time. They both wished they could be there for him. Harry gave them a reassuring smile before he turned to leave. He head towards the gates and looked at his watch, he took a small detour but would still have enough time to get their and back before dinner. Once outside the gates, Harry apparated to the small town his parents had lived once. His first stop was at the transforming statue of him and his parents. He had already seen it from the last time he came there, but now he got to fully take it in. There wasn't a threat of Voldemort coming to kill him at any moment. Harry noticed how happy they looked in the statue. Which was, no doubt, the way they always were before they were killed. After fully taking in the statue, he moved on to the graveyard. He slowly walked past the grave of Ignotus Peverell. He was unbelievably thankful that Ignotus had the cloak, Harry wouldn't have been alive without it. He didn't stop at Ignotus's grave since his destination was his parents' grave. He continued on, not noticing a figure lurking in the shadows of the graveyard, carefully watching him and taking notes.

"Hey mum and dad," Harry said out loud as he stood with his hands shoved into his pockets. Harry had already conjured a bouquet flowers for their grave. "I know that you guys can hear me, wherever you are so... um... thank you, you know... for everything. I owe my life to you two and I want you two to know that I love you guys, even though we didn't get to spend a lot of time together. Thanks. I plan on doing this every year, so you know. It feels like I can finally live a life you'd want for me now that Voldemort's gone so I figured it'd be a great to get to kind of talk to you at least once a year. I have a girlfriend so you know. Ginny Weasley, Molly and Arthur's youngest, and I want to tell you that I love her. She takes care of me so you two don't have to worry about me being too reckless. And although you guys aren't her, I kinda do have a family. The Weasley's have taken me in, they treat me like a son. And I have so many people who have my back that you don't have to worry about me being alone. I thought you should know that your little boy is safe and there are people around him to keep him that way... I'm teaching DADA this year. McGonagall asked and I said yes since she was swamped with rebuilding and everything. She's done so much for me I thought it was only fair. But I think I want to become an auror. That's what I've basically been doing for my whole life so it only fits. I've checked out some books on it so I can get a head start on the required reading in becoming an auror. Again, thanks for everything, I really wish I could have known you guys better but I think I know you guys enough, given the circumstances... Um, I'll talk to you guys later, I've still got one more stop to make before I have to be back at school. I love you."

Harry wiped the small tear that had fallen off his face as he turned around to leave the graveyard. He passed the kissing gate and headed towards his first home. He needed this, it was a way he could feel closer to his parents after having them be so distant for so many years. When he reached the house, he touched his hands to the gate, just staring at the half-destroyed home. Harry imagined what his life could have been like if there was no Voldemort, if his parents had the chance to raise him like they wanted. He'd probably have at least one brother or sister. He'd probably spend his whole childhood on a broom with his dad and Sirius giving him pointers when he made the house team. He'd probably get the chance to grow up surrounded by magic and hear all the stories that Ron and Ginny had heard as bedtime stories. Most importantly, he would have felt loved. Not just by his friends once he got to school, but from his parents as he grew up. How his life would be so different if his parents had been there to raise him. But it wasn't possible to go back and change that, so Harry would have to settle to making sure his children always knew a parents love, and that Teddy would never feel the way he did.

He took a deep breath in and opened the gate. Carefully, he opened the front door and walked into his would-be home. Rubble still lay on the floor all around him, now with a thick layer of dust added to it. There was no doubt that no one had been in the house since the night Harry had been taken from it. In front of him was the kitchen; it looked like someone was still living there by the state of the kitchen with the exception of the dust that was all over. To his left, Harry saw a living room that still had some of his old toys laying in it. The curtains in the living room were drawn, everything seemed in place but the footstool that was in the center of the room instead of next to its matching chair. Looking to the right, Harry found where he wanted to go, up the stairs. From the way the rubble sat, it looked like it was from upstairs that it had originated. He slowly walked up the stairs, carefully avoiding the bigger pieces of rubble. At the top of the steps there were four rooms. Two of the rooms, Harry assumed, were his parents' and his old room. The other two, upon further inspection, were another room and a bathroom. Harry went to his parents' room first. He opened the door to see everything the way they probably had left it. Blinds were closed, the bed was made, a few pairs of shoes lay by the closet door, overall, it was a clean room. Harry closed the door to the room after taking it all in and turned to where his old room was. He took a deep breath before going in. The door to the room wasn't on its hinges, it was blown out and lay further down the hall. On the ground of his room were toys and discarded shoes that he only wore a handful of times. He felt a breeze and turned to find that, practically, the whole wall was blown up and he could see the front yard form his spot in the room. His room obviously had the most damage in it. It was evident that the majority of the damage was done there. He saw the remains of his old crib, the front gate of the crib was completely gone as was part of the adjoining side. Harry didn't stay long, it took all he had to not imagine his mothers body laying in front of his crib, lifeless. After about a minute in his old room, he turned and left. This was Harry's last stop for the day so he went straight down the stairs and out the door. It was hard for him to see what could have been and how it was all taken away from him in just one night. Once he was out of his old home and out of public eye, though there weren't many people out at the time, Harry disapparated.

Ginny and Hermione were both waiting in Harry's room when he got back to Hogwarts. Ginny greeted him with a hug and asked how he was which caused Harry to tell them about his day. Although it had been kind of painful to go to Godric's Hallow, Harry was glad he did it and he voiced that opinion to the two witches that were there, worrying about him. Once there worries were put to rest, Harry escorted them down to dinner with a smile on his face. Although that day didn't have really any good memories associated with it, he knew that it would get some.


	9. The Start

**A/N:** In honor of the new school year, here's a new chapter. I want to warn you that I haven't figured out whether this new school year will inspire me to write more or make me too tired to write at all, just to warn you all! Also, I made some changes to chapter 2 because I realized I didn't edit it to fit my new story line.

 **Chapter Nine**

 **The Start**

The last Hogsmeade weekend came too fast for Harry. It was the Saturday before finals started and he was swamped with getting all his homework grading done and preparing his finals for each of the years. He debated whether or not he should even go to Hogsmeade so he could stay in and get work done. But when George owled him, asking to meet him for a late lunch at the Three Broomsticks, Harry didn't want to say no. That's what caused him to be walking down to Hogsmeade with Ginny and Hermione on that snowy Saturday. Although George and Harry were friends, Harry was confused as to why George wanted to meet with him. It must have been something really important if George couldn't wait a week until they all were back at the Burrow. While Harry went to meet with George, Hermione and Ginny were going to do some shopping that Harry had no interest in. Although, if asked, he'd claim that he would love to go shopping with them. Harry said goodbye to the girls and they continued on down Hogsmeade as he entered the Three Broomsticks.

He looked around for his redheaded friend. He spotted him at a table in the back sitting with another redhead, Ron. "Hey Ron, George," Harry greeted, sitting down.

"Hey Harry," George replied.

"Hey, where's Hermione and Ginny?" Ron asked, hoping to see his girlfriend.

"Shopping, they're gonna join us later, once they get everything they need," Harry noticed a butterbeer in front of him. It was obviously for him since both of the Weasley's already were drinking a glass of their own. "How's the shop?"

"Great, lots of new customers that are just eating up all the new products. And actually, I'm thinking of starting up another branch of Wheezes up here in Hogsmeade. I just came from making an offer to Zonko's, the guy had been talking to me for a while about me buying it and now's as good of a time as any other. Says he's gotten too old to be running a shop with that many kids running around in it," George replied.

"That's great," Harry exclaimed.

"Yeah, it is. Um, but that's not why I came here..."

"Uh-huh?" Harry prompted as George trailed off. George glanced at Ron, they both looked nervous but why they were, Harry had no idea.

George gestured for Harry to lean in as he and Ron both did the same, "So, Angelina and I have been... dating for a while now."

"Yeah, I remember you telling me that before school started. What has that got to do with me?" Harry's confusion persisted.

"Well, we were walking in London and overheard some people talking about you and... Ginny. Because of that we knew they were wizards but couldn't identify who they were. We tried to listen in as best as we could but we could only get snippets of what they were saying. Harry, I think they're planning to attack you and Ginny at Kings Cross."

Harry sat there for a moment, processing the information. These people could be the same people that had attacked him and Ginny back in September in Hogsmeade. But how did they know they'd be out of the castle then. Harry was still confused, although for a different reason than before. "Why would they attack Ginny? No one outside the Weasley's and our closest friends knows we're dating," Harry wondered.

"I don't know but they have to be the people who attacked you in September. It's the only way this would make sense," Ron said.

"That's what I was thinking," Harry replied, "But that still doesn't explain why they're going after Ginny, I should be their target." It was quiet for a moment as the three thought of an explanation for what was going on. The butterbeers remained untouched and the three boys remained huddled together. They were all perplexed with the odd situation. A couple minutes went by before Harry spoke up again, "Maybe it's just 'cause we are together a lot. I mean, it's not like we avoid each other when we're in public. They probably figure that going after any of my friends would make me mad, you know."

"That's probably as good of an explanation as we're gonna get," George responded. "But what're we gonna do?"

Harry, who was a natural leader, spoke up again, "Well, we definitely have to tell Ginny. She'd kill me if I left her in the dark about this."

"That's probably for the best," Ron said with genuine terror. He knew how powerful Ginny was and did not want to get on her bad side.

"Also, McGonagall needs to know, she'll be able to help, and probably know what to do. For now though, I think we shouldn't tell anyone other than that. We don't even know if it's a credible threat yet. Both of you should keep your ears open and see if you hear anything else. I'll keep you posted on what McGonagall says and what we're going to do," Harry informed. George and Ron nodded in agreement, always willing to follow Harry's plans. The three were quiet, they had leaned back, sitting normally in their chairs. Harry looked at his watch, he was expecting Ginny at any minute. Ron, George, and Harry past the time waiting for the two girls making small talk. Harry hadn't seen Ron since the last Hogsmeade day and George since August so they all caught up with what was happening in each other's lives. When they saw Ginny and Hermione walking through the door, Harry turned to his two friends, "I'll tell Ginny about it later, we don't have to mention it now."

"George," Ginny cried. She rushed over to hug her brother who she had always been very close to.

"Hey Gin, how's it going?" George responded as he hugged her. Harry stayed seated as George and Ginny caught up and Ron and Hermione had their private moment. He was content to let what George had told him slip to the back of his mind and enjoyed the rest of his day.

* * *

Harry sat on top of his desk, waiting for his next class to start the Monday after Hogsmeade. When he got back to Hogwarts after his talk with George, he had sent a message to McGonagall, requesting a meeting. She messaged him back saying that she would be able to meet him Monday night, after classes were done. Harry had agreed to it and made sure his focus was on his classes for the day, not his meeting with McGonagall. His current focus was on the class currently filing in, seventh years. In particular, a redhead who came and sat in front of his desk like she had for the whole semester. Although Harry would have begun when the majority of his class was present, that day he had to wait until everyone was there to start as they were testing. Once the last straggler came in, Harry began, "Okay class, I know we all hate this part but today we're going to take our one and only exam for the semester." Groans filled the room even though they knew they would be taking an exam that day since Harry had told them weeks in advance. "Yeah, I know, exams suck," Harry continued, his voice filled with sympathy, "but they're required and I've managed to shorten it enough to fit into one class period," Harry grabbed the stack of papers on his desk and started to pass them out. "When you are done, bring them up to my desk and sit back down to quietly wait for either the end of the class or the last test taker. We will have one more class this week, but I promise it'll be fun. It is a surprise though, so I won't tell you what we are doing," Harry finished handing out the papers before adding, "Good luck."

Harry sat down at his desk and took out the exams from the class before his current one. As he could not leave, he decided to grade the exams that were already taken. He had only finished grading a dozen exams by the time all of his students had finished. Harry looked at his watch and noticed that only about half of the hour had pass, Harry laughed. "Either that was too easy, or you all are just really good," Harry told the class. "You may leave if you wish, otherwise you can stay here and talk, good job everyone." Most of the students cleared out, wanting to get as far away from their classes as possible, the few who stayed were Harry's friends. He had told Ginny, Hermione, and Neville too about the information George had brought forth. They were all eager to hear what McGonagall would say about it. Which is how Harry found himself talking to them about the potential attack until the end of the class period and the three had no reason to stay there anymore. Harry kissed Ginny goodbye and said his farewells to the other two as they left his classroom. He checked his watch after the three Gryffindors were out of the room. He saw that he should start heading to the Headmistress's office. Harry gathered the papers he had been grading from his desk, and the papers that his most recent class had just turned in. He stuffed them into a folder which he put into his bag. He then proceeded to leave his room and head towards McGonagall's office. On the way, he stopped by his room to put his bag down. He didn't want to have to carry all the exams around until that night when he would return to his room after dinner.

When Harry got to McGonagall's office, he gave the gargoyle the password and knocked on the door once up the stairs. "Come in," McGonagall called from inside the office.

"Hello Minerva," Harry greeted, finally getting used to calling her by her first name.

"Hello Harry. I understand there is a pressing matter that you would like to discuss with me."

"Yes," Harry affirmed as McGonagall gestured for him to sit down. Harry proceeded to tell her everything George had told him two days before. He told her of his suspicion that it was the same people that had attacked him and Ginny in September but he couldn't be sure. McGonagall processed the information silently. Her eyes glazed over, showing Harry her deep thought. It was several minutes before a word was spoken between the two again.

"I understand your worry," she began. "I agree with you that it quite possibly could be the same group who attacked you before. Although we cannot be certain and this may just be a false alarm, I think it would be prudent to take action. We cannot have another incident like September happen, especially with so many bystanders that could potentially get hurt. I am going to contact the auror department to put security at Kings Cross Station, hopefully they'll be able to catch or at least identify the people who are behind these attacks. At the very least they can get a description of these people and see if it matches anyone that you can remember from the attack in September. As for Miss Weasley's and your own safety, I suggest that the both of you apparate to the Burrow after all the students have left. That way, the two of you won't be even in the vicinity of where the attack is supposed to take place. I want to assure your safety and I believe this is the best course of action."

Harry nodded, McGonagall's plan was solid and good. "Okay, I will tell Ginny and her family. Thank you Minerva."

"You're welcome, Harry. Is there anything else?"

"Actually, yes. I don't know why, but I get the feeling that something bigger is happening here than just some random attacks, they feel planned out and purposeful. I mean they did take the time to learn an ancient killing curse that tortures you along the way. The more I think about it, the more I feel like these attacks are connected."

"I agree, it doesn't seem right. I will send a letter to Minister Shacklebolt and get him to get a trusted group of people to investigate the attacks and whomever could be associated with them."

"I would like to be kept in the loop with that group then, if possible. I know it's unconventional, but it would make me feel better to be up to date with their findings. That way I can keep myself, and those closest to me safe."

"I understand Harry. And, given the circumstances, I believe that would be completely reasonable and possible. I will add that in my owl to the Minister."

"Thank you Minerva, I really appreciate it."

"Just make sure you are being careful over the break. I know you can take care of yourself Harry, but trouble always seems to have a way of finding you and I'd hate to have that be the cause of pain for you."

"I will," Harry was touched that McGonagall was worrying about him. She had always been an aunt figure to him, and that just proved it. It was then that Harry finally noticed the time, dinner was already halfway through and he knew they both needed to eat so he made his goodbye, "I should get something to eat before dinner is over. Thank you for your help Minerva. I really appreciate it."

McGonagall smiled, "Goodbye Harry."


	10. Going Home

**Chapter Ten**

 **Going Home**

The rest of the week was uneventful for Harry and his friends. On the last Friday the students had, students were filled with excitement although they didn't leave until the next day. On Saturday, students were rushing to get to Hogsmeade and go home. Everyone was excited to see their families that they had not seen since September. Of course, there were many students who hadn't packed when it came time to leave, and they were all rushing to pack. Harry himself still had a few of his possessions to pack but he had more time than the students as he would be leaving midday instead of the morning. Ginny had dropped off her trunk in Harry's room early that morning and rushed off to eat breakfast. Harry decided to forgo breakfast and opted to work on his curriculum for the next semester. He worked through the students leaving and was still working when Ginny knocked on his door. "Did someone forget that we're supposed to be leaving in five minutes?" she teased.

Harry looked at his wrist watch, he realized she was right and met her with a sheepish smile. "Oops," he said rubbing the back of his head. "I guess I got a little caught up in my work."

"A little?" Ginny snorted. "Come on big teacher man, let's go."

He laughed and put his work back into his bag. Ginny had outstretched her hand, offering it to Harry. He took it and together, they walked out of his room. Harry sent their trunks to the Burrow before they proceeded to the apparition line. On their way, they fell into a comfortable silence for a short period. During the silence Harry thought he heard movement in the snow. He glanced at the direction the noise came from and saw nothing. Harry put it down to an animal in the brush and thought nothing more of it. A few seconds after he heard the noise, Ginny started talking to him. The next time the noise sounded, it went unnoticed. They continued on their way until they were a few steps outside the apparition line before they stopped. Harry turned to Ginny. "You ready?" He asked her. She nodded with a big smile on her face. Harry grinned right back at her. He leaned in and gave her a chaste kiss on the lips. Harry opened his eyes from the kiss to find them surrounded. His eyes grew wide when he realized who was surrounding them. With his right hand still tightly clasped around Ginny's left hand, he slowly slipped his wand out of his jacket pocket and held it by his side. He proceeded to slowly turn his back to Ginny as she did the same. They stood back to back and took in the people surrounding them. It was dead silent, no one said anything. Harry glanced at Ginny and saw her pull out her wand and raise it in defense. Harry followed her lead and raised his wand. He could feel the sloppy but effective anti-apparition spell that had been put on by the soon to be attackers. He knew how to take off the spell from the books he had been reading to become an auror. He knew that, since the spell was sloppy and it was a temporary one. He would have to find the caster and knock him unconscious. The only reason it would work to simply knock him unconscious was because it wasn't professionally done. He surveyed the people around him, looking for any tell-tale signs of someone over concentration. He found none, but had a feeling he'd find one if they started attacking. So far they hadn't, no one had moved from their spot since Harry and Ginny had noticed that they were surrounded. It was an intense show down; seemingly, both sides afraid to make the first move. It was in the silence that Harry had an idea. He knew they would either need help, or run, and as they couldn't run at the time, he decided to get help. He squeezed Ginny's hand, telling her he was about to do something that was potentially crazy. It set her on high alert and Harry thought of the happiest memory he could. He cast the patronus charm and whispered "help" and sent it to McGonagall. It was at that moment that all hell broke loose. The attackers were throwing curses left and right. It took all Harry and Ginny had to just defend themselves. They couldn't go on the offensive at all. If they didn't get help soon, they wouldn't make it past that fight.

Harry kept casting his shield. Trying to find an opening to go on the offensive. It didn't take long for him to find who was casting the anti-apparition spell. Although everything was a frenzy, but he could pick out the attacker like a sore thumb. He was a shorter man, shaking with nerves. He stood a couple steps behind the rest of the attackers and was obviously scared. Harry just needed a slight opening to place a well placed spell that would render the short man unconscious. But he couldn't get his opening. It took all he had to hold his shield. So much that he had to drop Ginny's hand to concentrate on the protection spell. They were outnumbered ten to two which made it extremely difficult to hold the spell. Harry felt his concentration and strength weakening. He knew he'd have to act fast if he wanted to save himself and, more importantly, Ginny. He put everything he had into strengthening his shield so much that it gave a push back to his attackers. There was a moment of peace and Harry took it. He quickly shot a stunning spell at the short man and hit him right in the chest. In that instant, he could feel the sloppy anti-apparition spell lift and he reached for Ginny's hand, getting ready to apparate. Just as he turned his head and grabbed her hand, the attacks started up again. Harry didn't have time to raise a shield and was hit with a cutting curse. It hit him directly in the stomach and he fell. He was exhausted and in tremendous pain. His body couldn't take it and he soon was unconscious like the short man he had just attacked. He faintly heard Ginny screaming his name, but then, everything was silent.

* * *

"Potter. Wake up Potter."

Harry groaned, he couldn't recognize where he was nor who was shaking him. He painfully opened his eyes to find the worried face of McGonagall staring straight at him. He was confused. Why was she standing over him? Why was he laying in what felt like snow? Why did he have a sharp pain coming from his gut? Harry slowly sat up after McGonagall had moved upon seeing him awake. He put his hand where the pain was originating from. His gloved hand came up with red blood on it. He looked around. He was surrounded by blood red snow. Probably mine, he thought. He heard McGonagall let out a small gasp. She had been too distracted by the unconscious teacher to notice the blood. She told him that she would fix that on the spot so he wouldn't lose anymore blood. Harry mindlessly followed her instructions as she told him to lay back down and stay still. He felt the unusual sensation of his wound almost sewing itself back together and felt as the pain slowly faded. He closed his eyes to feel for any other major pain from an injuries. Besides a few superficial cuts, Harry was fine. He looked back up at McGonagall. He had yet to say a word as he was still immensely confused. She still looked worried for him and just as confused. She offered him a hand to help him stand up and he gladly took it. Harry went as slowly as possible, knowing he'd probably get lightheaded from the loss of blood. He was right, as soon as he stood to his full height, his vision darkened so he couldn't see anything, he felt dizzy, and his knees grew weak. McGonagall gave him her arm for Harry to lean on, seeing his disorientation. He tried not to fall over, knowing he'd have to get up again and repeat the process of lightheadedness. It took more than a minute for his vision to come back and for him too feel as normal as he could in the current situation. When he did feel normal again, he stopped leaning on McGonagall and stood on his own.

"What happened?" Harry finally croaked out.

McGonagall looked astonished, "I... don't know. I got here and found you laying on the ground. Harry, do you remember what happened?"

"Umm..." Harry rubbed his head, trying to remember. "I-I was walking off the grounds to go home when-when a group of people surrounded me and-and then they attacked once I sent a patronus to you. I held them as long as I could, and reached for Ginny to apparate away when a curse hit me and I fell unconscious... Ginny! Where's Ginny?"

"She wasn't with you when I got here."

Harry was frantic, he looked around for any sign of her. Harry saw a print in the snow that looked like someone else had fallen right by him. The print was longer than a normal body however, like she had been dragged. Suddenly, the tracks stopped, liked someone had apparated with her. She was most likely unconscious. "They have her," Harry exclaimed. "We have to find her. They're gonna kill her."

"Harry, calm down. Who took her?"

"The same people who attacked us in September, it was them Minerva. They knew we wouldn't be on the train. They knew we'd be exposed out of the Hogwarts lines for a small moment which is when they attacked. We have to find them."

"And we will. But first we need to get help. The Weasley are probably worried out of their minds. Come on, hold my arm," McGonagall held out her arm so Harry could side-along apparate and Harry obliged. She could tell he was too weak to apparate on his own. They appeared at the Burrow to be met with a hysterical Mrs. Weasley. She immediately saw the weak state Harry was in and ushered them into the Burrow. Ron and Mr. Weasley met them in the kitchen and jumped to help Harry. Saving their questions until he was comfortable. Mrs. Weasley ordered Ron to get him a glass of water and for Mr. Weasley to get him a blanket all the while being the hospital host to McGonagall. If Harry wasn't in such an unstable state, he would have been amazed at how efficient Mrs. Weasley was.

"There you go dear," Mrs. Weasley cooed once Harry was settled. She didn't say anything else, but Harry saw her eyes begging for him to answer the one question she had. Where was Ginny.

Harry answered her question by telling them what had happened, "We were just about to apparate here when they surrounded us- the same people from September- and we were outnumbered. I called McGonagall for help but we could hold them long enough and right as we were trying to escape, I was hit and knocked unconscious. Ginny must have fallen soon after me. And then- and then they took her," Harry looked defeated. His posture was slumped and eyes down-cast. He knew it was his fault, if only he had just gotten them out of there sooner. If only he had just been more vigilant. If only...

Mrs. Weasley was horrified. She held back a sob and turned away to hid the tears sliding down her face. Mr. Weasley went to comfort his wife, trying his best to hold himself together. Ron was the only one who spoke up. He knew his best friend, and he knew that Harry was blaming himself for them getting Ginny. He also knew that Harry had, undoubtedly, fought as hard as he could to keep Ginny safe. "It's not your fault Harry, you can't blame yourself."

"The hell I can't," Harry shouted, his frustration coming out as he stared Ron down. His eyes fell again. They all just looked at him, surprised by his sudden outburst. "Sorry," Harry apologized, realizing what he had said. He took a deep breath in and desperately said, "What do we do now?"


	11. Relief

**Chapter Eleven**

 **Relief**

"We need help," Mr. Weasley said wisely, starting to form a plan to save Ginny. "I'll go to the ministry. I know a few people in the auror department who can help. I'll notify them of the situation and make sure it's put as a priority."

"Let me go with you," Harry begged. His eyes pleading with Mr. Weasley, he needed to do whatever he could to help.

Mr. Weasley was hesitant. He was worried that Harry would let his emotions get the better of him and that he'd do something rash. Mr. Weasley knew, however, it would do good to have Harry recount his tale of what happened instead of Mr. Weasley putting together fragments of what happened. "Alright, but I want you right back here when we're done at the ministry. We don't need you going and getting yourself killed," Harry nodded in understanding. He wasn't happy about it as he wanted to be there when they rescued Ginny but when Mr. Weasley was stern, there was no use in going against him. Harry stood up to put the blanket away now that he was warmed up. "I suggest you change first Harry," Mr. Weasley advised when he saw the state of Harry's clothes. Harry listened and ran up to his room where he knew his trunk would be as he'd sent both his and Ginny's trunks to their rooms. He changed as fast as he could, not wanting to waste anytime. He arrived back in the kitchen to find Mrs. Weasley inviting McGonagall to stay at least until Mr. Weasley and Harry got back from the ministry. McGonagall accepted since she considered Mr. and Mrs. Weasley friends, and also because she was worried over one of her students. Harry didn't say anything when he got down stairs, he simply looked at Mr. Weasley with determination coursing through his body, and nodded, signifying he was ready to go. Mr. Weasley responded with a curt nod and turned to give Mrs. Weasley a peck on the lips as goodbye. He and Harry proceeded to exit the kitchen and into the yard of the Burrow before apparating to the guest entrance of the ministry.

They quickly made their way into the atrium towards the lifts. They were swift with their movements, resolved to be as efficient as possible. It took just about seven minutes for them to arrive at auror headquarters. Mr. Weasley went straight to a desk with the name plate of Jacob Wilson and Harry followed, close behind. The man sitting at the desk was an older man, younger than Mr. Weasley but had obviously been an auror for quite some time. His hair was starting to go grey and there were noticeable wrinkles on his face but he still was a strong, in shape man. He needed to stay in shape to be a good auror, especially as he got older. He looked up at Mr. Weasley once he noticed the new presence in the bullpen. His face shown confusion until he noticed who the presence was, "Arthur! 't's good ter see ye my friend. Who's this?" he exclaimed as he stood up to shake Mr. Weasley's hand with vigor. He had yet to recognize Harry, which Harry didn't mind in the slightest way

"Hello Jack," Mr. Weasley responded.

"'An who's this young fella wit' ya?" He questioned with enthusiasm.

Harry stepped up to shake Wilson's hand, "Harry sir, Harry Potter."

"Well I'll be damned. The Harry Potter, 't's good ter meet ya," Harry nodded in response. Under normal circumstances he would have been a lot friendlier, but he was too preoccupied over Ginny. "So, what brings ya two 'ere?"

"It's my daughter," Mr. Weasley spoke up, "she's been kidnapped. All we know is that it's the same people that attacked Harry and her back in September. We believe it's Death Eaters, but have no proof."

"Oh," Wilson's face fell as he realized the severity of his old friend's visit. "How did this 'appen?"

Harry knew this was his part to say, "We had heard of an unconfirmed attack that was supposed to take place at Platform Nine and Three Quarters the day we were coming home from Hogwarts. Because it was unconfirmed, we took precautions, but didn't notify any authorities. We decided to forgo the train and opted to apparate instead after lunch. When we got outside the lines of Hogwarts, they surrounded us and attacked. I called for help and we tried to hold them off as long as possible, but we couldn't. I was hit and passed out and after that, we believe that Ginny too became unconscious and that's when they took her."

Wilson was quite for a moment, processing the information, "How many of 'hem were there?"

"Ten, seven men, three women," Harry responded confidently.

"Did any of 'em say anything?"

"No, they didn't even attack until I sent a patronus for help."

"Do you remember anything 'bout any of 'em?"

"Yeah, there was a man, shorter than the rest. He was nervous and fumbled a lot of his curses. He was the one who had put the anti-apparition spell on. And... There was something in his eyes, it was like he wasn't himself. Like he was imperiused," Harry remembered, only making his new deduction recently.

"Okay, that's good. There anything else you can remember?"

Harry thought for a moment. He needed something, something that could help them find Ginny. He combed through his memories, as he went through the situation again and again, each time, he remembered something that he hadn't the time before. "Um... There was something I didn't remember before. After I passed out, I remember kind of waking up for a second. I thought it was just in my subconscious, but it's not. It's hazy, but I remember them saying something," Harry concentrated hard on his memory that was coming back to him. He closed his eyes, shutting out the world around him, "They said something about grabbing Ginny but leaving me and bring her to um... something about Waveney and Dyke. I-I can't remember anything else."

"Waveney and Dyke? Ye sure?"

"Positive. Why?"

Wilson glanced at Mr. Weasley, seeing if his old friend had put together the two seemingly random words. He had, his face shown the realization. Harry however was still lost. When Wilson looked back at Harry, he saw the confusion and filled him in, "Waveney and Dyke o' Oulton Dyke 're two rivers in da west. They intersect at one point. We've found 'er." As he spoke these words, Harry felt relief, they knew where she was, they could go and save her. She would be okay. Harry refused to let his mind think of everything that could go wrong, and instead chose to focus on the fact that they had a lead. He let out a deep breath. His body relaxed in the slightest way, and he just generally felt better. He perked up when Wilson spoke up again, "I'm gonna put a rescue team 'n' a surveillance team together. Now that we got a location, we needa find where she's actually bein' 'eld. I suggest ye both go 'ome. There's nothin' more you can do. Arthur, I'll contact ye when we got confirmation." Harry was reluctant leave when Ginny was still out there but knew that Mr. Weasley wouldn't let him stay and there was nothing more he could do for her. He was reassured knowing that once the auror department found out anything, they'd contact Mr. Weasley and keep him up to date. Harry turned to Mr. Weasley, ready to follow his lead.

"Thank you Jack, I can't tell you how grateful I am of you for doing this," Mr. Weasley shook his friends hand once more.

"Don't mention it Arthur, I know ye'd do the same thing if da roles were reversed," he nodded and the two men went their separate ways. Harry trailed closely behind Mr. Weasley. They'd done all they could and would head back to the Burrow to tell Mrs. Weasley, Ron, and McGonagall their news.

* * *

Mrs. Weasley was relieved yet still worried. She hadn't bothered to hold back the tears as she heard that they have a lead on Ginny's whereabouts. Harry felt for her. She had just started recovering after losing Fred and now she was on an emotional roller-coaster with Ginny's life. Mrs. Weasley had gone through far too much pain when it came to the safety of her children and Harry wished she hadn't. He'd do anything to take her pain away. But he couldn't do anything else to help. He had given the aurors all of the information he had and he was no longer required to be 'the Chosen One' and be in charge of everyone's safety. He had to step back, even though, in this case, he would not have minded taking the lead. Now though, they were all playing the waiting game. The radio was turned on to prevent complete silence. Ron and Harry had begun a game of Wizard's Chess to try and stop their minds from wandering to all that could go wrong. McGonagall had gone back to Hogwarts after hearing the new information. Mrs. Weasley had taken up her knitting. And Mr. Weasley was tinkering with a small toy car, one of his many muggle toys. None of them, however, were really paying attention to their small tasks, all their thoughts were on Ginny. The rest of the Weasley family had been informed of the situation and were in the process of getting out of work to come to the Burrow, with the exception of Charlie who was in Romania. Hermione was the one person that was considered a part of the Weasley clan who they couldn't reach. Ron had decided he would still go and pick her up at King's Cross and inform her of the situation once she was back at the Burrow. It wasn't until just before they would normally be eating dinner that anything changed. Wilson had sent an express owl to Mr. Weasley.

 _Arthur,_

 _Our surveillance team has found your daughter. She is being held in_

 _a house not far away from where the two river's intersect. I have_

 _put together a rescue team, lead by myself, and we are currently_

 _preparing to go ahead with the rescue mission. We have high hopes_

 _of success, but be patient, it could still be a few hours before_

 _we even have a window to strike. I'll send another hour over to_

 _get you if we are successful and rescue your daughter. Otherwise_

 _I will still keep you posted on what is going on. Stay hopeful,_

 _my friend._

 _Jack Wilson_

"What does it say?" Mrs. Weasley gasped.

Mr. Weasley looked up at his wife, he had tears of happiness in his eyes, "They've found her and are about to send in a rescue team. But it still could be a few hours." Although she hadn't been rescued yet, everyone was relieved to hear that the auror's at least knew where Ginny was.

There was silence after Mr. Weasley spoke. Everyone was processing the information in their own way and taking time to take a deep breath and clam their nerves. It was silent until Mrs. Weasley prompted her family to eat instead of just sitting there. It was still quiet as they ate, but there was at least the sounds of forks and knives clinking against plates. George arrived half way through dinner. His face was stricken with worry as he came barreling through the door. He was quickly filled in with the latest news the Weasley's and ushered George to join them. They continued to wait through the end of dinner. Still not many words were said since George had joined them. After dinner Ron apparated to King's Cross to be there when the train got in and to tell her all that had happened with Ginny since Hermione had been in the dark because she was on the train. They returned not twenty minutes later for Hermione to hug Mrs. Weasley and Harry out of fear and support. Nearly an hour after Hermione had returned, Bill and Fleur got to the Burrow. The same worried looks etched on their faces as had been all of the other Weasleys. Also like the others, they were quickly filled in and the house went back to silence. The clock had already struck ten when Percy finally arrived, the last of the Weasleys who would be able to come to the Burrow. By that time, they had yet to hear more on Ginny's situation. They waited more than two more hours before they got any news at all. There was a knock on the door. Panic struck the occupants faces, all their minds instantly going to the worst possible out come. Mr. Weasley got up to answer the door as Harry followed. The door was opened for them to find a ministry official who knew Mr. Weasley. He only said one thing:

"We got her."


End file.
